The Johnson Age
by dickard23
Summary: This story will cover a bunch of topics with various characters. Brenda's post-LAPD life. Raydor's running of Major Crimes. Also, it will feature characters who exist in the universe, but were never on screen.
1. Escape to the West

Escape to the West

"Ahhh" Brenda roared/growled into her pillow. She had just reached her breaking point.

Fritz was soon to follow and collapsed next to her. She rolled up next to him, burying her face into his chest, going through a play by play of what just happened.

It seemed like a normal, boring Wednesday night. They came home from work, ate takeout, talked about their day. Joel was enamored with a ball of yarn and paid them no mind.

Brenda went to change into her sleeping attire, same black panties and pink tank top, when Fritz grabbed her from behind and pulled her to him. He covered her neck with kisses and pulled her to the bed.

She tried to get on top, but that didn't last long, Fritz flipped her over and held her arms over her head. Out of breath, she gave in to him. He shed his clothes and what was left of hers and started devouring her flesh. She loved every moment.

Her nipples were hot and hard like newly formed rocks and he alternated squeezing them hard and softly sucking on them. The mix of pleasure and pain was intoxicating and Brenda soaked it in with staggered breaths.

He pushed on her thighs, and she spread them without hesitation. He attacked her thighs, kissing and biting them all over. She moaned and panted, which only encouraged him.

She got wetter and wetter and loved/hated having no control. He watched her squirm beneath him and smiled at her, devilishly. He let his hand get closer and closer to her mound but made sure to avoid it. He loved to tease her.

Her brown eyes only got bigger, and she looked at him longingly.

"Fritzi"

"Yes"

"Please"

"What is it?" He feigned ignorance to her plight.

"Give it to me."

"Not Yet." He was still having too much fun. He slowly traced her outer lips with his fingers, barely touching her. She tried to buck her hips, but he firmly held her down. "Patience."

Brenda could scream, but she held back. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"We'll see about that," he thought. Somehow, he could read her mind.

He slowly increased the pressure. She got wetter for him, and started to gasp. Slowly, he pushed in his finger, but not very deep. He quickly moved in and out with shallow strokes. She responded with grunts that just kept getting louder.

Just when she was ready to burst, he stopped. His cock was nice and ready for her. He knelt in front of her face and offered it. She spit on the head and slowly began to stroke.

"Two can play this game," she thought as she smiled. She gave him slow licks, carefully running up and down the vein of his dick. Her hands barely touched his balls, but she made him twitch. She got down on her hands and knees. It was easier for her that way and she slowly went to work.

Fritz loved the sight of her on all fours. "I wish she would stay that way. I could ride her all day. He loved watching her ass, and he wished he could reach it and slap it.

Brenda slowly made it from his dick to his balls and started to lick them. She got to his taint, and didn't know what to do next. She slowly licked it. He groaned loudly and she kept going, slowly stroking his dick.

"I never thought she would go there," Fritz thought to himself. Now he had an idea.

Fritz didn't want to lose it so fast, so he pulled away from her and got behind her. He started kissing her back and her calves, and started to slowly lick her pussy from behind.

She growled loudly, dying of anticipation. As he licked her, he grabbed lube from the drawer and liberally applied it to his fingers. Before she knew what hit her, he slowly pushed a finger into her behind.

She screamed. He looked at her. She looked out of breath but happy, so he kept going. Slowly pushing in and out with his fingers as he licked her. One finger became two and two became three. Brenda took them all like a pro. Little did he know, this wasn't her first stint with anal play.

Finally, he had enough, and he thrust his swollen dick into her pussy. This almost put her over the edge. He held on for a minute, wanting to savor the moment, and then he started to slowly thrust in and out.

Brenda got louder and louder. She loved it doggie style and at her rate, she was going to alert the neighbors to their fun. Fritz gently pushed her into the pillow, and quickly increased his tempo.

She screamed into the pillow, and her words wore muffled, but Fritz could still hear her. He kept going until she was about to cum. Then, he froze.

Brenda was ready to kill him. She grunted and wanted to flip him over and ride, but she knew tonight was his night. When she relaxed a little, Fritz resumed.

Minutes later, Brenda started to gush all over the bed. Fritz was still hard. He started moving in and out of her like a piston. Her toes curled up and she started panting very heavily. She somehow started gushing a second time and soon after a third time.

Her body reached its breaking point from all of the stress Fritz put on her. Soon afterwards, Fritz shot his load deep inside of his wife.

Fritz needed time to recover. He was exhausted, pleasing his wife was a lot of work. He liked her next to him, hair a mess, all sweaty and smelling of peaches and sex. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Knock on wood. Her phone rang. Fritz couldn't believe it. She wasn't a cop anymore, yet her phone still rings at all hours. Brenda reluctantly answered it. "Bobby what's wrong honey?"

Her brother was crying, telling her about how he planned the perfect evening for his wife, got her flowers and chocolate to come home and find her in the kitchen with the plumber balls deep inside of her. He felt like a fool. He had been working overtime to take her somewhere nice, she was on the floor for a plumber.

Best of all, Bobby finally realized that this prick was sabotaging the pipes, so he would have an excuse to come to the house and mess with his wife. I can't believe I paid for a guy to fuck my wife.

He screamed, "I hope you liked the service charges. It will pay for this. Bobby grabbed the biggest rock in the front yard and through it right through the window of the plumber's truck.

Joe pulled up his pants and ran out of there, hopped in the truck and peeled out. Fool didn't even have his shoes or the rest of his clothes.

Joyce was completely unapologetic. "If you were around more, this never would have happened." It didn't matter that he. worked day and night to send Charlie to Georgetown and to pay for their house, her car, her spa treatments. He felt his whole life flush down the ratchet toilet.

"Where are you know?" Brenda asked him. "In Mississippi in a hotel. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to get out of that house, out of the state."

"You can't live in a hotel."

"I'm not. I'm driving to LA."

"You're coming here?" Brenda was stunned. She hadn't seen him since Mom's funeral.

"I need to start somewhere new."

"When will you be in town."

"Probably not until Friday. I'm not rushing through. I need time to clear my head. Also, do you have any idea how hard it is to find a hotel that will let you bring a dog."

"You brought Hunter."

"I had to. She's the only one I got."

"You got me, and Fritzi."

"What?" Fritz grumbled. "This won't be good," he muttered.

"Call me tomorrow baby. I love you." Brenda ended the phone conversation.

She looked at Fritz, her excitement from earlier has long washed away. Before he could ask her what happened, she recounted her brother's story.

"Where is he know?"

"Mississippi."

"He's moving to Mississippi."

"No, he's moving to Los Angeles."

"What?" Fritz's eyes bugged out of his head. He liked Brenda's family, but he also liked having a buffer between them. Why don't you try having a wife with three older, protective brothers? Sometimes they act like she's still 16.

"He doesn't have anything in Atlanta. Charlie's gone. Dad's in Florida with Jr. Jimmy's off with Frank somewhere."

"Where's he going to live?"

Brenda had her sad puppy eyes ready.

"No. Not with us. No way, no how."

"It will only be temporary."

"Every time your family comes here, they are loud, needy and you always make off like a bandit leaving me to deal with them."

"I've gotten a lot better. I don't work as much. He needs me."

"The last thing I need is your brother sulking on my couch and guzzling beer all day."

"He'll find a way to keep busy. He's my brother. Would you not do the same for Claire?"

"I would not let her move in with me. I would pay her rent somewhere else before I moved her in here."

Brenda knew that was true. "How about this? How about you get to make a list of three things that you want and I will do them without hesitation?

"Ten things."

"Five."

"I don't know. This sounds like it will not be a good idea."

"It will work out, and think about all of the things you have wanted to do to me, but have been too shy."

"I'm not shy."

"Sure, you're not." She egged him on.

"Fine. I'll do it, but he will not be a permanent fixture. He only gets 3 months, tops."

"Deal."

She sealed it with a kiss.

"Also, he brought his dog. Good night Fritzi." She shut off the light.

"This woman lives to trick me," Fritz thought to himself. "and I keep coming back for more. I can't live without her. I wouldn't know how."

He pulled the covers over himself. Brenda was sound asleep.


	2. News Bearer

Bobby's Ford was almost out of gas. He pulled into the station and sighed. He never thought at 51, his life would be here, in the middle of nowhere, just him and his dog, running away from home. He gave Hunter some water before he filled the tank. She drank readily and then stretched her legs. She didn't know where they were going, but they finally got away from that woman, far away. If dogs could talk, she would have told Bobby that Joyce was a ho a long time ago.

He called Charlie. "Hey honey. I'm on the road on my way to in LA."

"Visiting Aunt Brenda," Charlie beamed. She loved her aunt.

"You could say that," he stammered.

"Can I talk to mom?"

"She's back at the house."

"Is she flying out?"

"No. She's staying there." He had no idea what that bitch was doing, but she wasn't his problem anymore.

"Woof," Hunter said hi to Charlie.

"You brought Hunter? What kind of visit is this?"

"One that has no definite ending. I'm moving to CA, without your mother."

That said it all to Charlie.

He didn't want to tell her over the phone, but who knew when he would see her again.

No wonder Charlie couldn't get along with her parents when she was 16. She couldn't deal with the double standard of her mother's harsh rules and her excessively friendly behavior with strange men. She wanted to tell her father, but she didn't know what to tell him or how. She hadn't seen conclusive proof, but she was very suspicious.

"Was it the electrician?" Charlie asked.

"Him too," he thought. Dear God! "No," he said, "just irreconcilable differences."

He didn't want to tell his daughter about his mother's indiscretions. He hated her, but Charlie shouldn't have to. This was his mess.

Charlie knew he was lying but appreciated it anyway. "Who actually says irreconcilable differences to people anyway?" she thought as she got her notebooks ready for school. She followed Aunt Brenda's path to Georgetown, and she loved it.

"I gotta go, Daddy. Call me when you get to LA."

Just like that Bobby was alone again, well almost. Hunter looked at him and wagged her tail.

"Just you and me," he said to her. They drove off in the car, unaware of where was next, but anywhere but Atlanta.

"No wonder Brenda ran away from home," he thought aloud as he passed the McDonalds. There was nothing for her there. There is nothing there for me now. "I wish I had done this a long time ago."


	3. Housework

Housework

"I hate squeezing limes," Brenda grunted. The kitchen was a disaster. She was trying to make key lime pie, Bobby's favorite, but the kitchen was a hot mess, and she was struggling to keep track of her mother's recipe.

Fritz was at work. Brenda promised to clean before her brother arrived. She instead made a big mess. He was going to love this, not that he is expecting anything else.

Joel hopped up on the counter, ready to drink the lime juice.

"Shoo Shoo." She swats him away, and he retires to the couch. "I should have bought a pie."

_Ring! Ring!_

"Who could that be?" She walked to the door. "Andrea?"

"Hey Brenda. You don't look ready to go."

"Oh shoo1! I forgot. We were supposed to go to the mall. My brother's coming tomorrow, and I have been trying to make a pie and get the house ready, and it's all a disaster."

"It can't be that bad," Andrea said as she let followed Brenda inside. Too soon, she thought as she saw their mess of an apartment and the ratchet mess that was supposed to become a pie. Maybe if it goes into a cocoon for 10 years. "Do you need any help?"

"Yes," Brenda cried out. I just got a lifeline.

Andrea was only half-serious, kind of like when people ask you how you are, but don't want a sob story. Eh! Baking is free, she thought. She took the recipe and booted Brenda from the kitchen.

Brenda went into the guest room. It was a mess. Dirty underwear from her earlier transgression with Fritz. She grabbed all of the clothes and threw them in a hamper. She stripped the bedding and stuck it in the hamper. Books on the shelf, furniture swept, carpet vacuumed. Eventually, the room looked respectable. Brenda headed on to tackle the bathroom next

Andrea likes to whistle while she works. Joel came back to the kitchen, curling around her ankle. What a chubby little thing. Chubby cats are the best. She whisked the ingredients and poured the mixture over the crust. She went to put the pie in. Damn! Brenda didn't even preheat the oven. She needs some help. Maybe she should come to my cooking class. My instructor will hate me. That's it, I'm bringing her.

_Bing!_ The oven was ready to go.

Andrea put in the pie and turned around. God this kitchen is dirty. She started tossing dishes into the dishwasher. Then, wipe down the counters. Eh! I did enough. Andrea found the couch. Her orange buddy joined her.

"Thank you so much. If I had made that pie," Brenda didn't have to finish her sentence. They both knew that her cooking skills were about as good as Joel's.

"Not a problem," Andrea answered, you totally owe em one.

"So what's new with you," Brenda asked, flopping on the other couch.

"Uhhh Nothing."

"Uhh Nothing, sounds like something. Who is he?"

"No one," Andrea lied.

"Is it a she? I didn't know you swung that way. Is it Mikki?" Mikki was really cute. Her flirting made Brenda a little nervous, but she definitely was a beauty.

"No. I don't swing that way? It's not anything yet."

"Not anything serious," Brenda prodded

"Not anything at all. I just think he's nice."

"Oooooh a crush. Crushes are fun. I'm all crushed out, but there's nothing wrong with eye candy."

Andrea threw a pillow at Brenda. "You can't stop can you."

"Nope, not until I learn who has your affections."

"I'm not telling."

"I'll deduce it."

"You don't know him," Andrea lied again.

Brenda smiled. Andrea's throat turned a little red when she lied. "Sure."

Andrea got up to get the pie. "Where's your oven mitt?"

"Uhh," Brenda had no idea.

Andrea searched through drawers and used a dish towel instead. "I'm guessing you don't know where your wire rack is either."

"My what?" Brenda thought of an underwire bra and not a cooling rack.

Never mind. Andrea set the pie on a baking dish and opened the fridge. Nothing but a half-empty bottle of Merlot, some eggs, and something hinky in a drawer. I wonder how Fritz eats in this place. "You have no food."

"Shoot," I was supposed to go grocery shopping.

"You had pie ingredients but no food."

"I got that stuff from a convenience store on the way home from work."

Andrea shook her head, similar to Lana's head-shake in Archer.

"Let's go."

They went to the store. Somehow, Brenda's a pothead who doesn't smoke weed. She's just always eating candy and in a daze, smart as a whip, but never all there. I wonder if weed makes her sober. If only she had met Charlie.

Andrea pulled into the parking lot. "What food do you normally buy?"

"Uhh."

"Never mind." Andrea grabbed a cart and started filling it with normal items, milk, bacon, butter, juice, soda, apples, various veggies, bread, shredded cheese, some microwave dinners for Brenda- maybe she could handle that. "What kind of meat does Fritz like?"

"Cuban chicken from the place on 3rd and Sepulveda?"

Wow! That's a new one. Angela grabbed ground beef and hot dogs. Any idiot could cook this. Little did she know, Brenda failed at microwave soup. She looked at Brenda, checking out the ice cream aisle. Well almost ….

"I don't want collard greens," Rusty pouted.

"You don't have to eat them," Sharon snapped.

"But they smell so bad. They'll stink up the whole house."

"Oh you hush."

Rusty wandered to the ice cream aisle and saw Brenda.

"Rusty, how are you?"

Before he could answer, Brenda hugged him. It was nice to see him again. She could tell that Sharon picked out his clothes. He looked more chic than the last time she had seen him.

"I'm fine. Sharon's trying to kill me with vegetables."

"Gross!" Brenda grabbed a tub of chocolate truffle raspberry.

"Too adventurous for me," Rusty grabbed chocolate chip, a tried and true flavor.

Andrea almost hit Sharon with her cart. "Sorry, oh Captain how are you?"

"I'm doing just peachy."

Andrea didn't believe that for a second. She had to assume Brenda's place, bad enough, and now she has a teenage former prostitute living with her, when she should be free to live it up, not that Sharon knows how to do that anyway.

"How are you?"

"I'm good, just chugging aong."

"How's working with Miss. Atlanta?"

"She's a riot. Lots of fun. Actually she's here now, somewhere. These are her groceries."

Sharon found it surprising that Brenda knew how to have fun at work, but not surprising that someone else was doing her grocery shopping. Sharon peered to the ice cream aisle and spotted Brenda and Rusty chatting, both holding ice cream.

"Ready to go, Rusty."

He glared at her. Always on a schedule. Can't she relax for one minute. "See you later Brenda, he muttered as he walked away."

"I forgot Andrea, crud." She rushed to the cart. "Sorry about that."

"Ready to go."

"Yes. Can we stop by the liquor store on the way home?"

"When did I become a chauffer?"

"Friends help friends."

"Your help sounds like a liabilty."

"One of these days, you will need me, and I will be there."

"Hmmm," Andrea said, that will be a comical day.

They checked out and stopped at a liquor store. Brenda grabbed a 30 rack of Budweiser.

"Throwing a frat party?"

"They're for Bobby."

"You call that helping out a brother."

"What do you recommend? I don't drink beer."

"Beer that is not."

Andrea guided her to the Blue Moon. It's a start.

Brenda grabbed the cans instead of the bottle.

"What's with you and cans?"

"Bobby likes crushing them on his head."

What kind of hillbilly family are the Johnsons? Andrea pondered. "I did my best."

They checked out and headed back to Brenda's home.

They carried the groceries inside "Thanks for all your help."

"Anytime. Not literally," Andrea corrected.

"See you on Monday."

"Asta Pasta." Andrea drove home, to spend her night alone, thinking about one guy she just couldn't get out of her mind.

Fritz pulled in, expecting to see a hot mess for an apartment. He was shocked to see a semi-clean place with food in the fridge and some juice to drink, also a pie.

"When did you become Martha Stewart?"

"When Andrea came over and she became Martha Stewart."

"I thought you two were going shopping."

"I wish I had remembered that."

"You have to be nicer to your friends, Brenda."

"I am nice."

"Smiling when they do stuff for you isn't that nice."

"I do stuff for her too."

"Like what?"

"I bought her a mimosa at brunch the other week, and I helped her..." Brenda couldn't remember anything else she did, but she must have done something. "I know just the thing"

"Care to tell"

"Not yet."

"Cooking doesn't count as nice."

"Oh you hush!"

"Make me."

Brenda accepted his challenge, grabbing his collar and pressing his mouth into hers. Her large lips made quick work of his, and she started nibbling on his lip.

He grunted.

"I said hush." She took off his tie and hooked it around his neck, slowly leading him into the bedroom.

He pushed her down on the bed and took off her shoes. Her small feet were engulfed by his hands and he started to rub them softly.

Brenda normally thought it was a turn-off when guys paid attention to her feet, but Fritz had a perfect touch. She leaned back and enjoyed his work. Her toes had been painted red. He loved that color on her.

His hands slowly worked up to her ankles and he pulled her toes into his mouth, sucking them one at a time.

Brenda leaned back and closed her eyes.

He bit her heels and pushed her knees towards her chest. He flipped on his back, so his head was in between her calf and her thigh, and he started nibbling on her calves.

She groaned as he worked his way up her body. When he reached her face, he gave her a quick kiss and worked his way back down to her knees, pulling off her bra on the way. He stopped and looked at her, wrinkled sundress, hair resting on her shoulders. She was delectable, and he was ready to dig in.

He pushed her legs apart and started kissing her knees and her thighs. After slowly teasing her he hiked up the dress, but ended there. He looked into her Bambi-like eyes and saw her pupils, they were huge.

Brenda was full of excitement and ready for fun. Fritz was the best high she ever had. And now, she was ready to take him in. She flipped him and grabbed his hands, pinning them to the bed. She started gnawing on his neck.

He tried to get on top again but brenda pressed herself into his hips. He knew she wanted to be in control, and he let her be.

She made quick work of his clothes and grabbed his tie off the dresser. Before he knew it, she tied his arms to the headboard with the tie. He started to protest, but then she grabbed his belt and used it to strap his feet together. She had him right where she wanted him, at her mercy.

She started biting all over his chest and legs. She got rougher until she stopped right in front of his throbbing member. She paused, smirked and gently licked him.

He gasped.

She thought about gagging him, but she decided that might be too much for one day. She slowly sucked him into her mouth, bobbing her head up and down as he squirmed beneath her. When he was ready to blow, she stopped. She started tickling his feet, and he twisted and jerked around. When he had enough, she went back to sucking him. She alternated between sucking and teasing.

Fritz was covered in sweat, red all over and ready to blow a gasket. He wanted to flip her over and pound her into the next year, but he was helpless.

She saw his plight and felt a little bad, well not that bad. She kissed his throat and could feel how hard his heart was racing." She decided to show mercy on him and went back to his dick. She went to the hilt and started groped his sack until he gushed down her throat.

His eyes almost bulged out of his head and soon, his breathing slowed a little. She untied his feet and then his arms.

"Told you I could make you speechless." She got up to get some ice cream, leaving him a sweaty mess on the bed.

What the fuck, he thought. He did not expect to be tied up when he let her be on top. It was thrilling and a little scary. He can't let his guard down around this woman. He knew that, but somehow, she kept catching him by surprise.

Well, two can play at this game he thought. Suddenly, he knew what he wanted to put on his list. He was going to be playing a lot of games with her. He smiled and closed his eyes.


	4. Bobby's Arrival

Bobby just got to Riverside. One more hour, and he would be in Los Angeles.

Hunter barked at a dog in a nearby car.

Bobby hadn't told Joyce where he was going, or that he was leaving the state. He just gave power of attorney to his cousin Tucker and following his advice took half of the money out of their joint bank accounts and opened up his own. He also cancelled all their joint credit cards. He was done with her.

Snoop Dogg played on the radio. He loved Gin and Juice, oh back when Snoop actually made music. Those were the days.

What was I doing 20 years ago?

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

"Does she ever shut up?" Joyce yelled.

"She's a baby. No." Bobby picked up his newborn daughter. Little Charlene stopped once her daddy picked her up. They sat together, and he watched the Hawks game. Charlene in one arm and a cold Bud in the other hand, perfect.

"Great parenting."

"Hey, she stopped crying."

Joyce went upstairs, ready to lie down.

Bobby and Charlene watched the Hawks lose, again. "Music time." He turned on the radio and heard Gin and Juice. Who is this dude? He's not bad.

Charlene fell asleep, and Bobby put her back in her crib. He went upstairs and went to bed. His wife was already out.

They had been a happy family, well at least Bobby thought so at the time. He wondered if she had ever been happy, or if it was all a lie. Charlie's gone. He's gone. Maybe it was all just a dream.

"Shit, I'm almost outta gas." That is real. He pulled in to the next rest stop and filled the tank. He let Hunter out to relieve herself on the grass.

"Hey Hey!" Some dude came to yell. He was the gardener, and he was sick of dogs peeing on the grass, ruining it.

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Getting gas."

"No the dog."

"She has to pee. Dogs do that you know."

"Not on the grass."

"Not in my car."

"She'll ruin my flowers."

"What flowers. All I see is dead grass."

"Yeah the dogs ruin it."

"Then why not plant them somewhere else."

"Public urination is an offense."

"You're not a cop, and even if you were, so what would you do, ticket the dog?"

He put Hunter in the backseat and drove off.

WTF. People in California are rather weird.

Bobby found his way to LA. He hadn't been to Brenda's place before, and he didn't quite remember the address. He pulled over and checked his phone. He turned on its direction-thing and followed it to Brenda's apartment.

He pulled up to see a parking lot and a bunch of stairs. He parked the truck and brought Hunter up the steps with him. He rang the doorbell.

Brenda stayed home today, eagerly awaiting her brother's arrival. She spent the morning reading, or pretending to read.

"Bobby!" Brenda yelled. She almost fell out her chair she got up so fast. She ran to the door and threw it open. She hugged him and immediately Joel started hissing. Hunter started barking, and wagging her tail ready to play. The German Shepard was excited for a new friend. Joel was not.

Oh I'll put him in the room. She scooped him up and tossed him in her bedroom. She threw in a ball of yarn and closed the door.

Hunter parked herself right on the floor in front of the tv.

"This place is small."

"Yeah, rent is pretty high."

"You both work."

"For the government, which means a lot of hours and not a lot of pay."

"How's the new salary?"

"Actually, it's pretty good, but since I started mid year, I haven't gotten a full salary yet."

"When you do, find a bigger place, dang?"

"It's usually just me and Fritz."

"You don't have any friends."

"They have bigger places. I usually go there."

"Oh Brenda."

"Also a bigger place means more cleaning."

"Since when do you clean?"

"Hey, I clean, sometimes, oh shut up and sit down."

"Got anything to eat." This was a desperation move, but he was hungry."

"I got a pie." She pulled out a key lime pie. It actually looked awesome. Little did he know Andrea made it. "Dig in."

You never have to tell Bobby anything twice. He grabbed a plate and a fork and dug in.

"You could have at least cut out a piece."

"My bad." A third of the pie was gone in a flash. It was really tasty. "Since when can you make pie."

"Since my friend made it for me," she admitted. "Don't tell Fritz."

"Why not?"

"I want to see the look on his face when he eats it, and thinks that I could have possibly made it."

"Deal. What's for dinner?"

"Takeout of your choice."

"Take out and key lime pie. Was this a Martha Stewart recipe?"

"No. Sandra Lee."

"Oh that bitch."

"Your language."

"Who are you Mom?"

Brenda looked sad. They both did. "She would have taken back the pie if she heard your mouth."

"Mama, never."

"MEOW!"

"I'll get him."

Joel was stuck in the yarn. She untangled him, and he curled up into a ball. She set him down on the floor, and he ran into the kitchen, parking himself on to the table.

Hunter looked at him. She wanted a new friend. She walked up to the table and lied under it.

Bobby went to the fridge. "Where's the Bud?"

"Andrea said it's time for you to drink real beer?"

"Who?"

"The baker."

"What's wrong with Bud?"

"Don't ask me. There's Blue Moon in the fridge."

"Blue what?"

"Beer."

Bobby grabbed one anyway and popped open the can. He took a sip, citrus and wheat, not bad.

Brenda got a dish and filled it with water for Hunter.

Hunter was quite grateful. She wiggled her tail and drank away.

Bobby chugged away. Nothing better than a cold one on a hot day.

Brenda hopped he wouldn't have too many before Fritz got home. She didn't do so well with talking to Fritz about his drinking, and she didn't want Bobby's beer chugging ways to stress it out. She went into her stash and grabbed a Ding Dong.

Bobby grabbed another beer.

Brenda threw the first one in the recycling bin.

_Ring Ring! _The house phone rang.

"Hello," Brenda answered.

"Fritzi, When are you coming home?"

"Not till tomorrow, Boo. I have a stakeout for tonight."

"Tonight?"

"We were hoping to catch El Torro today, but the shipment is running late."

"Did you pack for a stakeout?"

"No, but I have some stuff in my office."

"Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No thanks. I'll stop by the store. Has Bobby arrived?"

"Yes he's here."

"Send him my regards."

"I'll miss you. I don't like waking up without you."

"Yuck," Bobby yelled.

"Hopefully, I'll be home before you wake up. Given how late you wake up on Saturdays anyway."

Brenda said goodbye and looked at Bobby.

"Dinner?"

"Can we go to In and Out? I always wanted to try it."

"In and Out it is."

They went out to get burgers. Brenda ordered an animal-style 3x3 with fries to match. Bobby ordered 2 3x3s and fries.

"Two burgers! Did you eat this trip?"

"The second one's for Hunter?"

"You feed her people food?"

"Only when I run out of dog food."

They got home. Hunter loved her burger. Joel smelled and his eyes filled with jealousy. He hopped down and eyed Hunter.

Unlike most dogs, she ate slowly, savoring her new treat. She also ate on one side of the bowl instead of blocking it with her face. Joel leaned in for a bite. Hunter was ready to share. She had a new friend.

Bobby devoured his food and washed it down with another beer.

Brenda grabbed a glass of wine to go with her dinner, really classy. "How's Charlie?"

"She's great. She loves Georgetown."

"I miss her."

"She misses you. Maybe she could visit this summer."

"That would be nice."

"Did you tell her about you and Joyce?"

"Yes. She didn't seem surprised. She asked me if it was the electrician."

"Him too!"

"Ugh! I just can't believe it took me so long to see what everyone else already knew."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You tried your best. That's all you can do."

"I guess your right." Bobby grabbed another beer.

This is going to be a long three months, Brenda thought.

Hunter curled up next to Bobby. Joel joined her on the floor.

She texted Andrea. "How's ur night?"

Andrea was bored. She had already cleaned her place, made enough food for next three days, and gotten all of her work done. She kept busy to stop thinking about the one guy on her mind, but it didn't work so well. Her phone lit up.

"Same old," she answered.

"So, you cleaned your apartment."

"Someone has to. I don't have a Fritz."

"Haha"

"How's Bobby doing with the beer."

"4 down."

"He must like it."

"Are you free on Sunday?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Brunch."

"Sure."

Andrea looked at her cleaned apartment, wishing she wasn't in it alone.

Brenda looked at her apartment, wishing her brother's marriage hadn't been a sham, and her husband were by her side.

Bobby watched the baseball game, Dodgers vs Yankees. He had a long night and plenty of beer to see him through it.

Brenda retired ant went to bed. She put on one of Fritz's t-shirts, missing his scent, and curled into her sheets. She closed her eyes and imagined waking up with him magically there. She eventually drifted to sleep.


	5. First Wish

Fritz was exhausted. It took forever to get El Torro. He was late. He tried to flee. He started a fight and wouldn't give up, even when he was cuffed and in the back of the car. He fought during booking. We had to put a bag on his head because he kept spitting. His lawyer couldn't even calm him down. His lawyer tried to quit. Fritz talked him out of hit. If I had to start over with a new lawyer, I would have shot myself.

Finally, he could come home to his house, peace and quiet.

"Brendaaaaaaa!" Bobby yelled. "Get out here. Breakfast time." Bobby made an endless stack of flapjacks, eggs, bacon, sausage and of course a morning Bloody Mary.

Brenda stumbled out of bed, into the kitchen, and grabbed some juice. Hunter barked. Joel followed and they sat eagerly in front of Hunter's bowl. This time, there was dog food. Much less exciting, but Hunter ate away and Joel helped.

Brenda grabbed a glass of juice. "I thought Fritzi would be home by now." Just when she finished her sentence, Fritz opened the door.

"Fritz, my man, grab a plate."

Fritz was not ready for such energy this early in the morning. He was, however, ready for the food.

Brenda walked up to him, gave him a kiss and grabbed his bag, putting it away in the closet.

I love seeing her in my shirts, Fritz thought to himself as he grabbed some pancakes and bacon and sat down.

"That's it." Bobby was bewildered. His plate was a mountain of everything.

Brenda went for the bacon and eggs. They made small talk. Bobby had another Bloody Mary. Fritz looked at Brenda who pretended not to notice. "Alcohol, what alcohol?"

"So what are your plans for today Bobby," Fritz asked, other than drinking yourself into another galaxy.

"I need to wash the car and get going on my job search, also take Hunter for a run. She was cooped up for far too long."

Hunter heard run and sat down right next to Bobby.

Brenda grabbed some more food and put away the vodka. She hoped Bobby's drinking wouldn't stress out Fritz too much. She put away the food.

"Boo," she whispered into Fritz's ear. "You look exhausted. Why don't you get some rest?"

He crawled into bed and passed out.

Brenda cleaned the kitchen and her brother went out back to wash his car.

Andrea had a crime scene to go to. Normally, she waited until they had a suspect, but Sharon called her and asked her to come.

She got out of her car and walked to the police tape. After putting on her booties and gloves, she came inside the perimeter. "How can I help you captain?"

Captain Raydor stared at what was left of a petite, blonde woman, Holly Prescott, had been strangled and left in a ditch. She had been facing charges for molesting a child who lived across the street. She went missing last year, and everyone thought she fled to Mexico. Apparently, she had been dead the whole time.

"ADA Hobbes. Thank you for joining us this morning. This is Holly Prescott."

"_The Holly Prescott_," Andrea was shocked. "I figured she was long gone."

"Apparently, someone decided to play judge, jury and executioner." deduced Tao.

"Saved us a lot of money." Flynn shouted. He was thrilled, nothing more nasty than a child molester.

Crass, arrogant, loud, Flynn was hardly a Rhodes Scholar, but Andrea couldn't stop thinking about him. He was tough and gritty. His heart was in the job and when he applied himself, he was a fast thinker. His looks didn't hurt either. Andrea tried not to blush.

"Why don't we go to the father's house, give him a medal, and we can all go home by noon?" Provenza was ready to do a happy dance.

"Miss. Prescott was never convicted. Let's try to remember that." Raydor didn't want to be there either, but she wanted them to at least act respectably.

Buzz taped the scene. There wasn't much to tape, or much of Prescott either.

Morales didn't know what to do with this woman. There wasn't much left of her. Without the scarf, he wouldn't have been able to guess strangulation. He was ready to call for an anthropologist and walk away from this mess.

"Can I go home? There's not much to autopsy."

"I will need a proper id. Fingerprints, DNA, whatever you can do with her. I want to make sure she didn't kill someone and leave her ID behind."

"Can I just leave her here?" he muttered. The body got loaded up, and they were off.

"Andrea, I'm going to need your help going through Prescott's file. I want to figure out everything we know about this woman."

"I'll bring everything to the squad room."

Andrea walked back to her car. She was slender, blonde and had a nice rear end. Flynn always noticed a pretty blonde.

"Provenza, let's set up a pool. I have a feeling this case could make me some money."

"Now you're talking." Somehow, they never got sick of these stupid schemes.

Sanchez said nothing. He didn't think this case was worth investigating.

Back at the squad room Andrea put up a timeline covering everything she knew about Prescott. Her father died when she was 3. Her mother remarried a Craig Wyatt when she was 6. Her half brother Craig Jr. was born when she was 9. She molested him when she was 15. She went to juvie and then to a mental hospital. Her mother divorced her stepfather while she was away. She sought to have her juvie record expunged when she was 28. Her brother showed up to the hearing and was thrown out for being belligerent. He told her he'd kill her as soon as look at her, and she ruined his life. Before the judge could rule, another family, the Gordons, came forward, alleging that she had molested their son. She had been indicted and skipped bail. She hadn't been seen since.

"Detective Sanchez, find Craig Jr. Lieutenant Tao, find out what happened to her parents. Flynn and Provenza, find Mr. and Mrs. Gordon."

Asst. Chief Taylor walked into the room, annoyed no one had called him. "Captain Raydor, I hear you have found Holly Prescott."

"We are awaiting a forensic match, but it appears that way."

"Did you call the, oh Andrea you are here."

"Yes. I am." Andrea was thrilled to be here on a lovely Saturday, looking for someone who murdered a child molester. What did I do to deserve this?

"The press will be all over this," Taylor harped. Who knows she's in our morgue?"

"Major crimes, Morales, his assistants, and the families will once we bring them in," Raydor answered. Can't he go play with his kids or something?

"Is now the right time?" Taylor was nervous. Brenda had created enough media storms for the LAPD. He didn't need anymore.

"I want to see their first impression," Raydor defended herself. "It's probable that someone will not be surprised to find out she has been dead all this time."

The team dispersed, all working on their quests.

Brenda wanted to do something nice for Fritz. He had a long day at work. She was sending Bobby and her friend Cory to a baseball game and tonight, she and Fritzi could have the apartment to themselves. She went to the mall and got candles, a table cloth, rose petals, new lingerie, and called Di Moro's, arranging to have a 3 course dinner that she could pick up and bring home.

On the way home, she picked up some sparkling cider and a box of chocolate-covered strawberries.

Fritz just woke up. He put on clothes and walked out of the bedroom, surprised to see Joel sleeping next to a dog.

Brenda left a note on the table. "Fritzi, went to run some errands. Will be home soon. B"

He opened the fridge and grabbed an apple.

Bobby came in. "Sleeping Beauty finally woke up." Bobby was gone almost as soon as he arrived. Parker appeared, and they were off to the Dodgers game.

Fritz sat down on the couch and opened the newspaper and read Peanuts, his favorite comic.

Brenda came home. She left everything in the car except for the berries. She didn't want Fritz to suspect a thing.

"What's in the box Boo?"

"It's just a present for a coworker. Anne's birthday's on Monday." Brenda could fib so easily; they just rolled off her tongue.

Brenda hid the box in the back of the fridge and took a shower. She wanted to be perfectly groomed for tonight.

She got out of the shower and dried off with a towel. Now to get Fritz out of the house.

"How about you take Hunter for a walk?"

"Why don't you take her."

"She likes you."

"She doesn't know me."

"She will." Before he knew it, Brenda handed him a leash, a poop bag and some snacks. He and Hunter were out the door.

Hunter loved outside, so many smells, colors, all the fresh air. She kept a fast pace, and Fritz better keep up.

I don't believe this, work all day and all night to be relegated to dog walker. It was nice to be outside though. The weather was warm and dry. The scenery was nice, and Fritz spent too much time sitting down over the past day. His limbs needed to feel alive again. Also, he wanted to get in better shape. Brenda could eat lard all day and stay thin. Fritz wasn't so lucky. He picked up the pace, and Hunter met the challenge. They went for a run.

Brenda changed their sheets and washed some dishes for dinner. She wanted to make sure everything was just right.

She hid everything for tonight in the guest room, knowing Fritz wouldn't look in there.

She called the restaurant. They were ready. She drove over to pick up the food. When she returned, Fritz had just pulled in. She left the food in the car and followed him up.

"Did you have fun?"

"It was nice," Fritz tried to stay non-committal. He didn't want to be the daily dog-walker.

"How bout you hop in the shower, and then we'll head out to dinner. He went into the bathroom.

Brenda got the food out the car and put it on the table. It came with those heaters to keep food warm. She started to the flame and got to work: tablecloth on, table set, candles in the candlestick that Croelick gave her (what it's a nice candlestick). Brenda went in the guest room and put on her lingerie and a little black dress to go over it. She left a suit for Fritz on their bed.

He got out of the shower and saw the suit. He didn't really want to go anywhere fancy. He would have been fine staying home, but he was happy that Brenda actually had time to go to dinner now a days.

He got suited up and headed out to the living room. "Where are we going?" He looked up and realized the restaurant had came to him. He smiled.

"I wanted us to enjoy the apartment to ourselves, so I sent Bobby to that baseball game."

"Baseball," Fritz feigned jealousy. There was no where else he'd rather be. Brenda lit the candles. Fritz brought over the salads and set them down. Brenda poured the cider in their glasses, and they toasted to each other. Claire was right. They were a perfect match.

Fritz told her about El Torro and his excellent behavior. Brenda smiled, glad to have him home, with her, alone. Hunter barked, well almost alone. She and her best friend parked in the kitchen, hoping for a treat.

They ate dinner, sausage with a broccoli rabe. It was excellent. "Have you thought about your wishes yet?" Brenda was curious as to what he would do to her.

"Maybe." Fritz wasn't going to give her any hints.

Brenda was not a patient woman. She wanted to get right down to it, but she had to wait. Curses.

They shared dessert, a genoise with marzipan in between the layers and tarfuto on the side. It was amazing. Brenda sat on Fritz's lap, spooning sweet cake into his mouth. He started to rub the small of her back. Her hips wiggled.

After dessert, Brenda grabbed the box from the fridge and brought them into the bedroom. She quickly covered the bed with rose petals.

Fritz followed her. His arms slipped around her waist, pulling her close to him. She smelled like peaches and rain. His lips found her neck and got to work.

Brenda loved the feeling of being close to Fritz. She slipped her hands over his and pushed him closer. After a few minutes, she turned to face him, her hands on his shoulders, his legs entangled with hers. Her lips found his, and her hands cupped his chin.

Fritz's hands slipped down to Brenda's thighs. They fell onto the bed, never breaking the kiss. Brenda started to get Fritz out of his clothes; first his jacket, then the shirt, belt, pants. He only had boxers and a tie left.

Brenda got up, leaving Fritz on the bed. She went to her closet, took off her dress and came back. Her breasts were covered in black lace and green silk, which clung tightly to her body. Her panties were the same lace and silk. She slowly returned to the bed and lay next to her husband. She gave herself to him.

Fritz couldn't wait. He grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him. His lips started behind her ears and made their way to her chest, right above her breasts. He covered her chest in kisses.

Brenda sighed loudly. She loved it when he touched her chest. She started to get wet for him.

His lips made their way to her stomach and then to her thighs. She quivered as his kissed her calves.

He roughly rubbed her feet. His hands worked from her ankles and up to her breasts. He carefully took off her bra and pulled her left nipple in between his teeth. He softly bit as his hands massaged her breasts. Brenda growled for more. Fritz bit harder, and she yelped. He switched sides, giving her right nipple the same treatment.

Brenda's hands were in Fritz's hair. She pressed his head down into her body. Her legs wrapped themselves around Fritz. She wanted him to give it to her.

Fritz slowly pulled her panties down to her ankles. He pushed her feet towards her head and started to push his fingers into her.

Brenda's hips started to buck. "Oh Fritzi!"

Fritz knew how long it took to get Brenda ready to cum, and he knew just when to stop short. He build her up just to stop.

Brenda grabbed his tie and pulled Fritz towards her. She kissed him roughly and hissed into his ear, "take me."

Fritz freed her ankles and slowly pushed his way into his wife. His hips aligned with hers, and her legs wrapped around his hips. She slowly ground against him, picking up her pace to match his thrusts.

His hands held down her shoulders, and he took control. He pounded away until she was about to cum, and he stopped, looking right into her big, brown eyes.

Brenda rolled onto her stomach, head down, ass up, her back covered in rose petals.

Now, how can I resist? Fritz thought to himself.

His hands found her hips, and he slowly pushed back into her. He made quick, deliberate thrusts into her, and she started yelling. "Yes, Frizi, Give it to me."

She was warm, soft and smooth. Fritz hammered her, pulling on her hair as he gave her what she wanted.

"Ooooh! Harder! Faster!" Brenda's hips bucked wildly as she drove herself into Fritz. He pushed her onto her stomach, and rode her roughly, his legs on either side of her.

Brenda's fingers dug into the sheets. She could barely hold herself still as Fritz pounded away. She was so close. "Make me come. Please!" She was desperate for some relief.

Fritz grabbed Brenda and pulled her on top of him. As he thrust into her, her clit ground against his pelvic bone. It didn't take long before she started gushing all over him. He kept pounding until he was ready to lose it, and he filled her.

They collapsed on the bed, drenched in sweat. After spooning for a while, Fritz picked up his wife and brought her into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and set her down. He lathered his hands and began roughly washing his woman. They started grappling with and groping each other, soap suds everywhere. Fritz started to get hard again. Brenda made sure of that. The water washed it all away, and Fritz cut off the shower.

He put up her hands into the wall and started to kiss her back. He worked his way down her body and he knelt behind her. He started to rim her.

Brenda gasped and grunted. This night had just begun. "Ohhh yeah." Brenda had always wanted this from him, but was afraid to ask. Her first husband thought it was weird when she wanted to get nasty.

Missionary position every Sunday, that was sex according to him.

Fritz got up abruptly. "Wait here." He went into the bedroom and came back with a bottle of lube. He slowly applied it to his wife, and his fingers got to work, one finger, then two, then three. She was almost ready for him. He rubbed his throbbing member with lube and slowly pressed it in her.

Brenda clenched her teeth. Fritz was larger than her previous boyfriends. She took short, shallow breaths, trying to relax for him.

He bit her shoulder, distracting her as he made his way inside. She felt amazing. He didn't know why he hadn't gone for it before, but he was there now, and he wanted more.

She pulled him to her for a kiss, and his lips matched hers. He put her hands back on the shower wall and his hands met her breasts. He rubbed them softly as she adjusted to him and he slowly began to thrust.

Brenda was loud, moaning and yelling. Her face was bright red and sweat started to drip from her forehead.

His hands reached her hips, and he began to pick up speed.

"AAAHHHHH!" Brenda was feeling a mix of intense pleasure and sharp pain. Her breathing got really heavy and it was hard to breathe. Slowly, the pain faded away, but the breathing didn't get any easier. She was panting and grunting loudly.

Fritz didn't want to lose it so fast, but he was having trouble. She was tight. He slowed down and started to kiss her neck.

Her breathing returned to normal, and Fritz picked up the pace again. Brenda started meeting his thrusts and slipped a hand down to her clit. She began to rub furiously. She was ready to cum.

Fritz pulled her hand away, leaving her frustrated. "You'll cum when I say so." He slowed down his pace, and once she stopped resisting him, he picked up again.

A few minutes later, she was again ready to burst. This time, he started to finger her and rub her knob until she exploded. She yelled and screamed as her body shook violently. Somehow, Fritz hadn't lost it yet, and he had an idea.

He led her to the bedroom, staying inside of her the whole time, and he lied down on the bed, pulling her on top of him. He began slowly rocking his hips back and forth and Brenda began to ride him. He grabbed her vibrator from the bedside dresser and told her to turn around.

Now, she was facing him, her eyes locked into his. He used the vibrator on her, causing her to yell and scream some more as she came again and again and again until she pushed his hands away. He smiled and waited for her to catch her breath before he finished her off.

He flipped her onto her hands and knees and began to pound her, hard and rough until he was ready to blow.

Brenda screamed loudly as her behind had never felt such an assault before. She didn't have enough coherence to form any words and yelled unintelligible phrases. Right after she lost control and started gushing on the already soaked sheets, Fritz grunted loudly and blew his load deep inside of her.

He collapsed on top of her, covered in sweat and juices. "That was 1," he said as he gasped for air.


	6. Sunday Morning

Bobby was beat. The baseball game went into extra innings. They went to the bar after the game. He got a chance to flirt with some broads and a play a few rounds of pool. "What a day," he sighed as he stumbled into the apartment.

"Someone had a good time." He saw the remnants of his sister's dinner plants, dirty dinner plates, melted candles. Hunter was passed out on the floor and Joel on a nearby couch. Bobby stumbled into his bed and went to sleep.

(Major Crimes-Saturday afternoon)

The Gordons were in interview room one. "Would you like anything to drink?" Flynn asked. He had not wanted to haul them in here.

"No thank you. How long will this take?" Mr. Gordon did not want to be here. He had had enough of police stations.

"The Captain will be here soon to explain," Provenza answered, well he hoped she would be. He wanted to go home too.

"I'll take it from here, Lieutenants." Raydor finally arrived, glasses on, holding a file and a notepad, ready to get to it.

Flynn offered a weak smile and got out of there. Provenza followed.

"Thank you for coming down to see us."

"Flynn said there was a new development in the case. Has she finally been arrested?" Mrs. Gordon looked worried. She had not felt safe with this monster on the loose.

"When is the last time you saw her?" Raydor inquired

"When we were in court, getting a permanent restraining order for Johnny. Not much good that did. She should have never gotten bail." Mr. Gordon was pissed. When he heard she skipped bail, he was ready to find the judge who had granted it to her and beat his ass.

"Well, the thing is, she didn't skip out on her bail."

"What! Why the hell hasn't she been tried?" Now, he was really pissed.

"She's dead. It appears she's been dead this whole time." Raydor was careful not to say murder, not yet.

"How did she die?" Mrs. Gordon's voice cracked. She didn't like death, even if it was this bitch.

"It appears to have been foul play, and it appears that she has been dead since last year."

"But you said her car turned up in Mexico," now Mr. Gordon was confused. Did these people know anything.

"It did. We believe who ever killed her drove the car there and left it, so we would all think she fled. No one looked for her here because we all thought she was in Mexico."

It all sank in. Mr. Gordon knew why they were there. "Do we need an attorney?"

"I cannot give legal advice to you. You may get one if you choose."

"We don't need an attorney. We didn't do anything." Mrs. Gordon did not want to feel like a suspect.

"Do you remember what you were doing last May, around the time she missed her court appearance?"

"Taking care of Johnny. He had counseling sessions, interviews with doctors, police, lawyers. We tried to keep his life as normal as we could, taking him to the park, zoo, play dates." Mr. Gordon answered first.

"It was hard. We wanted him to have fun, but we were afraid to leave him out of our site. What if she came back and took him. What if someone else came for him."

It didn't look like Raydor was going to get much out of these two. They seemed to have genuinely believed that Prescott was gone. To be safe, however, she was going to inquire with Border Patrol to see if either of them crossed the border last may and with the TSA to see if either of them flew back from Mexico.

"Thank you for coming in. If there's anything you can think of that might help us figure this all out, please give us a call."

Mrs. Gordon looked like she just might say something, but she and her husband left without another word.

I'll need to talk to her alone, Raydor thought. She went back to the squad room.

The squad watched the whole thing from the audio room. Buzz recorded, and the others waited to see something juicy. Not this interview. Andrea stood with a pen to her mouth, her glasses at the edge of her nose. To Flynn, she kind of looked like a naughty school teacher. Nice and polite during the day but a bundle of dirty secrets at night. Also, she smelled nice, like lavender and oak trees.

They all made it back to the squad room. Mr. Wyatt had moved to Seattle. His son lived there too. Mrs. Wyatt, the former Mrs. Wyatt, was in Portland. They said they would be there to talk on Monday.

"What if there were other kids?" Sanchez asked.

"We'll probably never know now." Raydor responded.

"One of their fathers could have taken matters into his own hands."

"Crap," Raydor muttered, every father with a small boy could be a suspect if that's the case.

"Her lawyer would know or a shrink if she had one," Andrea suggested.

"Privileged information."

"Privilege dies with the patient. We could get court orders for the files or seek a special magistrate."

Flynn smiled when she said that. Brenda hates special magistrates, took too long, might lose the hearing anyway. She would make a bitch talk or trick him into stealing the files so she could seize them.

"Do we know who her psychiatrist or lawyer are?"

"We can find out from her motion to expunge her record," Tao piped in. He got to work looking for who filed the papers and who testified on her behalf.

"Sykes."

"I'm on it Captain." She and Andrea went to work.

Sykes making copies of all of the evidence they had, Prescott's juvenile record and indictment for the Gordon case, a crime scene photo or two (dead bodies always get courts to be more agreeable), and Morales' preliminary report.

Andrea filled out the legal forms.

(Back to Brenda and Fritz)

This was a lazy Sunday morning. Bobby was still sleeping off the beer from the night before. Brenda was out for the count. Fritz was awake but didn't want to leave the bed. He loved having Brenda by his side. The sheets were a nasty mess, but that could be dealt with later.

The only ones up were Hunter and Joel. Joel had a ball of yarn and was rolling with it around the apartment. Hunter had a bone and was gnawing away, happy as a clam.

Eventually, Fritz got up to go to the bathroom. Afterwards, he put on some pants and went to the living room to see the mess from dinner and two playful pets. When Hunter saw him, she dropped her bone and ran to Fritz.

"Someone wants a walk." He put on some shoes and grabbed a leash. They went out for a short walk. Hunter was not in a running mood yet. She just wanted to relieve herself. She did just that and they were back at home.

While they were out, Joel tried chewing on Hunter's bone, but he didn't like it. Bones must be for dogs, he thought.

Brenda was hungry and really sore. She didn't want to get out of bed, but she wanted some food. "Oh crud. Brunch." She grabbed her phone and called Andrea.

"Did you still want to go to brunch?" Brenda sounded half awake.

"You sound dead."

"I had quite a night last night."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Fritz is somewhere, and I assume Bobby's asleep."

"It's already 10:30AM. When would we get there."

"I made the reservation for 12."

"Sure, why not." Andrea had nothing else to do.

"I'll get everyone together. Hank's Bistro at 12."

Brenda hung up and fell back into her pillow. After a few minutes, she stumbled out of bed, walking amplified her soreness from the night. Fritz had been rather beastly the night before.

She yanked all of the sheets of the bed and threw them in the hamper. She wondered over to the bathroom and took a shower and washed her hair. After blowdrying her hair, Brenda got dressed and knocked on Bobby's door.

"Bobby, get up, we're going to brunch at 12." No answer. Brenda walked in the room and roused her sleeping brother.

"Brenda, do you know what time it is? Bobby was not ready for this.

"11. We're eating brunch at 12, get up."

"Brunch! Why didn't you say so?" Bobby hopped out of bed and into the guest shower.

"Fritzi, we're meeting Andrea for brunch at noon."

"Today. Fritz was ready to lounge around the apartment." He fed Hunter and Joel and made his way to the bedroom and into his shower. Fritz brushed his teeth and washed his face, still not quite ready to leave the apartment. He put on some slacks and a polo shirt and was ready to go, well ready-ish.

"Oh it's country club Fritzi," Brenda teased him and gave him a kiss.

"Can't we stay in bed?"

"I need a break from that bed," Brenda murmured as she kissed him again.

They piled in the car and drove off to Hank's Bistro.

Andrea arrived there first, wearing dark blue jeans and a beige and blue blouse.

She didn't expect Brenda to be on time. She seldom was. To her surprise, they pulled up a couple of minutes later. Bobby hopped out the car before Fritz had come to a complete stop. "Brunch!" he yelled as he ran towards the door.

Fritz sighed and pulled into a space. He looked at Brenda, who pretended not to notice her brother's antics. He and Brenda got out the car and walked to Andrea.

"You look nice today, Andrea." Brenda liked the blouse. It was pretty but simple.

"Come on," Bobby yelled from the door. He was ready to eat.

They walked to the restaurant and were promptly seated. Brenda tried to introduce Bobby to Andrea but he was already in the food line, grabbing everything.

"Is he always this hungry?" Andrea asked.

Just as Brenda said "no," Fritz said "yes." They laughed and ordered drinks from the waiter, Brenda and Andrea got orange juice, Fritz started with coffee.

They went to get their first plates. Fritz went for some brisket and veggies, Brenda found bacon, pancakes and a chocolate chip muffin, Andrea started with a bowl of fruit and some eggs. Bobby had bacon, sausage, eggs, a pork chop, toast and a salad. He needed some roughage.

Bobby got to the table first and started eating. The three soon followed.

"Bobby, this is Andrea. Andrea, Bobby." Brenda finally introduced them.

"A pleasure," Bobby shook her hand, and got a little sausage grease on it.

Andrea sighed and wiped off her hands with her napkin. This was going to be quite a meal.

"So how was work yesterday," Brenda inquired.

"You had work on a Saturday," Bobby's mouth was full of bacon. "Yuck."

"Well, we thought this woman had skipped out on her bail, but as it turns out, she had been murdered . We don't know when, other than it was a while ago, and we're not sure if she skipped bail and was later killed or was killed before the court date she missed."

"What had she been charged with?"

"Molesting a little boy."

"So lots of people wanted her dead," Brenda was not sad to be missing out on this case. Child molesters, yuck.

"Tell me your Saturday was better than mine."

"I went to the Dodgers game," Bobby exclaimed. He flagged down the waiter to order a Bloody Mary.  
"It went into extra innings. I can't believe they didn't reopen the bar. What a sham."

"That's just a shame," Fritz was surprised by how much this guy drank. He looked at Brenda, who seemed not to be paying attention to Bobby at all.

Brenda knew her brother drank a lot, but he was a happy drunk. He had been drinking a lot since he was a teen. She was afraid if he stopped now, he might actually die.

"After the game, we went to the pool hall. It was a riot. There was a bar fight and a cat fight and this one girl was a hot mess and fell down the stairs because she was too drunk." Bobby sipped his drink as he related the story of Katya, the girl who got escorted out of the bar because walking was too hard. The bouncers shoved her in a cab and sent her away. She wanted to keep drinking. The bouncers disagreed.

"Fritzi and I stayed home and had our own fun."

"Boring," Bobby never wanted to stay home. You can go home anytime.

"Well, hopefully your next weekend won't be so blah," Fritz was glad he had no work this weekend. This case had nothing to do with the FBI, and he'd just as well keep it that way.

They got up for more food. Bobby got another Bloody Mary, and he started telling wild stories about his drive from Atlanta. He told them about the bar fights, road rage, barking duels between Hunter and other dogs and about all of the weird restaurants he had visited. "One was a BBQ joint that served its food and drinks in mason jars. Another place served roasted squirrel."

Brenda made a face. She was glad that she had not gone to that place.

Andrea was surprised that Fritz agreed to let him stay with him and Brenda. This was going to be interesting.

Bobby went for drink number three, and Brenda took this as a sign to go to the bathroom. Andrea did to. Fritz went to get some cake. Brenda used sugar as a distraction all the time, maybe there's something to it.

"So how's your mystery man," Brenda teased Andrea.

"He's fine," Andrea blushed a little.

"I'm sure he is," Brenda wanted to know who this guy was. "Have you seen him recently,"

"What if I did," Andrea tried not to give anything away.

"Oohh, I'll figure it out or better yet, maybe you'll actually go talk to him and get something going."

"Oh you hush."

"Life is short. If you want him, go get him." Brenda wanted to see Andrea be happy.

They made their way back to the table.

Fritz nommed on some chocolate cake. It was awesome.

Bobby drank away and went on about Charlie and Hunter and everything in his life that wasn't Joyce.

The girls sat down again and joined the conversation. Brenda was glad to hear that Charlie was a good student and had some respectable friends. She briefly got up and returned with some pastries.

After the check came, they paid their shares and went out. The Howard-Johnson clan headed home and Andrea went out to drive around, no where to go, nothing to do, just driving her car. She saw the couples walking through the park and wondered what it would be like to be one of those people, if Flynn were by her side.

"Don't think such silly thoughts," Andrea thought to herself, as she drove on by.

Once it started to cool down, Bobby took Hunter for a run. Joel found his way onto Brenda's lap and Fritz read the Sunday paper.

"Do you ever worry about your brother?" Fritz asked her.

"He's a little bit of a fool, but he's stayed alive this long."

"I meant his drinking."

"Not anymore."

"You used to worry."

"He used to get way too drunk, falling down, getting lost, getting put in the drunk tank for being disorderly, but he's grown out of that. His wife threatened to leave him if he didn't cut it out, and he slowed his roll. As long as he doesn't do any shots, it's usually fine."

"Did you ever suggest he just quit?"

"I think he would literally die."

Fritz didn't know how to answer that concern. He went back to his paper.

Brenda wanted to ask him if Bobby's drinking was a struggle for him, but she didn't have the right words in her mind. Maybe she should help Bobby find his own apartment. That could be good for everyone.

Hunter loved to run, and Bobby was up for the challenge. The allergies weren't as bad as Atlanta and Bobby could actually breathe normally. After a few miles, it was time to head home.

Hunter ran to the water dish and drank away. Bobby downed a G2. After a shower, Bobby went into the kitchen and looked for dinner. Milk, cheese, butter. Bobby saw the potential for mac and cheese. He found the flour and the pasta and got to work. He made a rue in one pan and boiled the noodles in another, then cooked some ground beef and chopped veggies. About an hour later, dinner was done.

"Dinner," he yelled.

It smelled delicious, meaty, cheesy, spicy. Brenda and Fritz were both ready to dig in. They ate out of bowls, and the food was even better than it smelled.

"This is great," Fritz said in between bites.

"Bobby's always been quite the cook."

"When I was younger, I wanted to open my own restaurant, Bobby J's Soul Food." Joyce didn't think a restaurant was worth the risk. Bobby instead went into construction and became a general contractor. The money was good, but the hours were long and it wasn't the same as making food.

"You still should," Brenda piped in. She always thought Bobby should have gone for it. Screw Joyce, well that's the plumber's job now.

"I'm old."

"You're 51 years young."

Fritz couldn't argue with that sentiment. His own 50th birthday was approaching.

"So what do you do now, Brenda." Bobby didn't know much about her new job, other than she was finally away from that dirtbag Pope.

"I investigate high profile cases for the District Attorney's office and assist LAPD when needed. Gabriel is my liaison."

Bobby was glad that she still had a friend to work with. "How do you like your co-workers?"

"They're nice."

"And a little ratchet," Fritz added.

"Oh you," she poked him.

"What's ratchet?"

"They can get a little rowdy," Brenda admitted.

"A little rowdy. They start taking shots as soon as it's happy hour and get in screaming matches and cat fights in the parking lot."

"That was only once. They are good employees. They just work hard and play hard."

"One of them was too drunk to find his way home, and Brenda had to bring him here."

"He's an intern and the regulars decided to ply him with liquor, since he was new," Brenda defended. Cameron was a sweetheart. He just wasn't always the most together when he was drunk.

"They sound like my kind of people," Bobby wanted to meet Brenda's new team. It sounded like a hoot. "How's Major Crimes holding up."

"They're fine. Captain Raydor took over and they're getting used to a new regime."

"They didn't like her too much when she got there," Fritz added.

"Provenza didn't appreciate being supplanted, and she was in charge of FID. Going from "She-who-must-not-be-named to boss must have been weird." Brenda had heard a lot about her when she first got Major Crimes from Taylor. She tried to remind her former team that they didn't like her either when she first got there. She said things would change for the better. Maybe she was right.

"They still call her that?" Fritz thought Brenda's whole team was silly.

"Darth Raydor is more popular," Brenda actually liked that one.

"I thought you two were friends." Bobby didn't know what to make of this woman.

"We are, she's just a little rigid."

After dinner, Brenda cleared the plates. Bobby printed off copies of his resume. He planned on driving around to different companies and leaving it, hoping to find work soon.

Fritz did some reading for work tomorrow. They had to get ready for El Torro's indictment.

Brenda sat down by her husband, her head resting on his shoulder. She enjoyed his scent, oak, vanilla and something spicy, coriander or something.

She always knows how to distract me, Fritz thought as he turned the page. Every time she touched him, his mind left wherever it was, and he wanted to pull her into his arms. He really wanted to pull her to the edge of the couch and pound her.

Brenda wanted to cuddle. Why did Fritz have work to do? Joel the cat found his way onto her lap. Hunter barked. Brenda put on some shoes and took her outside.

Hunter decided to pee all over the neighbor's rose bushes. Brenda acted like she didn't see a thing. Her neighbor was a jerk anyway. Brenda nonchalantly walked away like nothing was happening. After eating some grass, Hunter was ready to go back to the house and home they went.

Hunter lied down on the floor, and Brenda resumed her spot next to Fritz.

"Can we snuggle tonight?"

"Of course, Brenda." Fritz wanted to do a lot more than that, but he had already given it to Brenda pretty good this weekend. He needed to pace himself.

Fritz read until he was just flipping pages, and he and Brenda retired to the bedroom. She wore black panties and a pink tank top like always. Fritz was just in a pair of plaid boxers. His arm was around her and his hand on her lower back. Brenda's head rested on Fritz's chest and her hand softly stroked his chest hair. She kissed his neck and rolled into him. "I love you," she whispered as she held him close.

"I know," Fritz responded as he gently kissed her lips. "And you know that I love you more than anything." He wrapped his other arm around her and held his head close to hers. He really wanted to give it to her again. Little Fritz started to emerge, and he was ready to work.

Brenda felt a rigidness below Fritz's waist. Her ass wasn't ready for an encore of last night. She needed another way to please him. She started to slowly kiss him from his neck to his pelvic bone. She stopped there and started to stroke his thighs. After, she covered them in kisses, she slowly pulled off his boxers, a large, bulbous head awaited her. She licked her lips and slowly licked him, gently licking along the vein that led down Fritz's throbbing manhood.

Fritz grunted.

"Shh!" Brenda whispered. She didn't want Bobby to hear them. She carefully resumed, sucking on the head and gently stroking him.

Fritz tried to stay quiet but he was enjoying himself too much.

Brenda got up, found her gag and put it in his mouth. She smiled and kissed his cheek, then went back to work. She started sucking on his balls. He grunted and tried to shout, but only muffled sounds could be heard.

She pushed on his knee caps until he raised his hips. She placed a pillow under his lower back. "I'll be right back." Brenda stowed into the kitchen and then into the bathroom. She returned with a small carrot and some lube. She started licking his shaft and rubbing his balls.

Fritz's eyes got huge. He wanted her to just finish him off already. He was one step away from just grabbing her head and fucking her face until he blew his load in her mouth.

Brenda could feel his body tense up and decided it was time. She carefully lubed the carrot and slowly sucked his dick as deeply as she could. When her nose hit the base she would back up and go down again.

The tightness drove Fritz wild, but her slow delivery kept him from losing his load. When she thought he had enough, Brenda picked up the pace. Just when he was on the verge of exploding, she carefully shoved the carrot into her husband. He tried to scream, but he couldn't make any sounds.

"What the fuck is she doing?" Fritz tried to get out, not getting anything but garbled muttering. All it took was a couple of thrusts with the carrot and Fritz shot his seed down Brenda's throat. He came so hard, Brenda couldn't swallow fast enough and some of it streamed down her lips.

Brenda took off the gag once she was sure Fritz wouldn't shout at her. His face was bright red. He was at a loss for words. Why did Brenda think that inserting a carrot into his ass would be a good idea? What disturbed him more was that he liked it so much.

Brenda quickly kissed her husband on the forehead. She got up and threw the carrot down the garbage disposal and shoved a chocolate-covered strawberry in her mouth. She made her way back into the bedroom with her husband awaiting her.

"I guess no one's ass is safe in this bed," Fritz laughed weakly.

Brenda laughed as she pulled herself closer to her husband. "I would ask you how you liked it, but you almost choked me with your cum, so I think that's an answer."

Fritz opened his mouth to answer but Brenda kissed him, and he forgot what he was going to say.


	7. It's Monday, Let's Talk About Murder

(Major Crimes)

Flynn woke up cold and alone. He hasn't been in a serious relationship since his divorce. He already felt that he ruined his children's childhoods, and he didn't want to take the risk of another screw up. His cell phone rang. The Wyatts were in town, and it was ready to see something happen. He took a shower, put on his deodorant and aftershave and got dressed. He didn't have much of a breakfast, just a coffee and a banana and he was out the door.

He got to work. Provenza was already there, as was Sanchez and Tao. Sykes wasn't there yet and Raydor wasn't there either. She's meeting with Taylor, Provenza answered before he could ask.

"Chief Taylor," Sanchez snickered.

Buzz came in. Everything's set up for the interviews.

(Taylor's office)

"What are you hoping to get from the Wyatts?" Taylor inquired.

"There's a lot we don't know. We don't know if was planning to flee and got killed before she could, or if she got killed and someone staged the escape. We don't know who all knew about her juvenile offense. We don't know how she supported herself or who her friends were. Her family is our best bet in figuring out what she was up to before she died, that will probably tell us who could have possibly done this." Raydor was not happy to have to answer this guy. She never thought she would think this, but she wished Brenda had become Asst. Chief, better yet Chief. She didn't do so well with rules, but she had a brain and got the job done. She didn't go around looking for ways to blame everyone else for every potential problem.

"If you're sure about this?"

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Of course Taylor had none. Raydor went back to the squad room.

Provenza put Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt in interview one and Jr. in interview two. Sanchez relayed this to the captain.

"Flynn," with me please. They headed to interview room one. Sykes arrived with bagels, fruit and coffee. Everyone grabbed something to eat and a coffee and was in the surveillance room with Buzz.

Andrea should have left her house 20 minutes ago, but nothing looked right to her. Her hair was flat. Her makeup was wrong. Her clothes were drab. She didn't even know why she cared so much. It's not like Flynn would notice anyway. She sighed, teased her hair and made it out the door.

"Thank you for joining us," Raydor began. "I am so sorry for your loss."

Mr. Wyatt was totally silent.

"Thank You," Mrs. Wyatt weakly answered. "To be truthful, I feel like I lost my daughter a long time ago."

"When was the last time you spoke to her?"

"She called me from jail and said she needed bail money. I said no way. I tried to help her last time, but she's sick. Maybe she should have stayed in jail."

"Do you know who bailed her out?"

"I assumed one of her sugar daddies. That's how she got by, charming fools for their money."

"You wouldn't have a name, would you?"

"I didn't ask. I didn't want to know, but if you look at her jewelry, you might be able to trace it."

_Why hadn't I thought of that_, Raydor thought.

"I know this is difficult for you. Could you tell me what happened the first time your daughter was arrested?"

"Don't you have her file?" Mr. Wyatt snapped. He did not want to be here. He left the state because CA become toxic for him, and this was the last reason he would want to return.

"She was a juvenile, so it is sealed. We are working on getting a court order, but it would be much faster if we could find out now."

"She abused my son."

"Our son," Mrs. Wyatt interrupted. Raydor could tell they fought over this a lot.

Her husband ignored her and kept going. "The kindergarten teacher called the cops when she saw he cried a lot and had bruises. The police hauled us out of work like criminals. I had no idea what happened, since I had just pulled a 36hr shift. They interviewed Holly and according to them, her affect was weird. They hired some advocate for her. She got charged in juvenile court. They sent her to jail and later determined she was a nut, so she got civilly committed and they released her when she no longer qualified. She was 20 at that time. I have no idea what she did since then, and I don't care. As long as she was away from my son, she could have fallen off a cliff."

"Did you always have to talk about her like that?"

"Like what. She wasn't going to get a Nobel Peace Prize. You always had to come to her defense."

"She was my daughter. I am all she had. What was I supposed to do?"

"Hire a lawyer and tell her to have a nice life. That's what you should have done."

"She needed me."

"I needed you. Jr. needed you, where were you?"

Raydor was about to send both of them home. They seem to have exhausted their usefulness.

"Where was I? I was trying to fix my messed up daughter, trying to heal my wounded son, trying to deal with your temper, working at my job and trying not to fall apart. Everyone needed be, but what did I need. Who was there for me? No one. I was all alone."

Mr. Wyatt was speechless. He never appreciated how hard this must have been for his former wife. Maybe if he had, not everything would have fallen apart.

"One more question," Flynn piped in. Raydor seemed to be totally distracted by the drama. She did however, give him a stank look. "Do you remember who her lawyer was?"

"Ronald Boykins."

"What a stupid name?" Mr. Wyatt muttered.

"You should be able to find him in the yellow pages."

"Thank you, so much." Flynn was actually useful

Andrea watched from the surveillance room with everyone else. Tao, "I'll look up this Boykins guy and see if he'll come in."

Flynn led Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt to the waiting area. He followed Raydor into interview room two, where a disgruntled Craig Jr. awaited.

He looked sweaty and tired and agitated. "Can I go now?"

"I have a few questions for you," Raydor started. "Of course, you are free to leave, but your parents were so helpful, and I'm sure they'd want you to help too. Do you have any idea who would want to kill your sister?"

"Try every father with a little boy in the area? Who knows how many kids she got her nasty hands on?"

"I hear you showed up to her expungement hearing."

"She never should have had a hearing. She's not "CURED." She just paid some doctors to tell some stupid lies."

Flynn couldn't disagree with that.

"You threatened her life."

"She ruined mine. I would have been more than glad to return the favor, but someone beat me to it." Jr. smirked.

_This kid was sick,_ Andrea thought as she watched the interview. He'd been through hell, and he had had come out broken.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"When I got dragged out of that stupid hearing."

Raydor realized they weren't going to get anything more out of him today, so she cut him loose. When she released him to his parents, she said that they may have more questions as the case develops. The Wyatt's made a hasty exit.

Tao couldn't find Boykins anywhere in the phone book or listed anywhere as a current practicing attorneys in LA. He was going to need to expand his search.

Andrea saw Flynn get into the elevator. "You look nice today," Flynn said.

"Mmm Thanks," Andrea muttered. _Why did she sound like a bitch just now?_

"Bad day?"

"Bad case," she answered. "I don't know what's worse, knowing her victims were children or seeing what they grew up to become. This whole thing just makes me sick."

"I know the feeling. I wish I could take a vacation right now."

"When's the last time you took a vacation?"

"I don't usually. I just rack up vacation days until they say I can't have any more, take enough to get under the threshold, and go back to work."

"You don't spend the time with your kids?"

"Sometimes, they stop by on weekends, but they don't get too excited about their formerly drunkard for a father."

"That's too bad. If only they saw, who you have become."

Flynn blushed. He wondered how such a kind woman was still single.

"Have you seen Captain Raydor?" Sykes interrupted.

"She's not here, unless she's hiding in my pants again."

Andrea chuckled. Flynn was so crass.

"Dr. Morales is looking for her."

"Try the waiting room."

Sykes found Raydor and told her to find Morales. Raydor made her way to the morgue.

"This is definitely Prescott, fingerprints were a match. DNA is still at the lab. She was definitely strangled," Morales began. "The killer broke her neck in the process and probably used his hands. There was no fabric or anything else imbedded in her neck."

"Why was the scarf there?"

"My guess- and I'm no shrink- was that it was a parting gift."

"The killer knew her personally."

"Don't hold me to that. I'm no Ducky."

Raydor didn't get the reference. "Did you get any closer on time of death?"

"When did she disappear?"

"The last court date she appeared on was May 18th, 2012 and she didn't appear on May 2,1st 2012."

"I'm going to go with in between May 18th and May 20th, 2012."

Raydor was not amused.

"The pollen on the underside of her corpse was consistent with May flowers," Morales chuckled. "The level of decomposition was consistent with her being dead for more than a year. There was not much of her organs left, and what I could test showed no signs of any toxic substances although her hair showed metabolites from heroin. Whatever ate her after she died came and left a long time ago."

"Thank you for your help. If you find anything else of interest, please let me know."

(Back to Brenda and Fritz)

Fritz wasn't surprised that El Torro was a douche at his arraignment. The judge tried to set his bail and he cursed her out. She ordered him remanded at the jail and ordered a psych evaluation to see if he was competent to stand trial. A bunch of legal wrangling would ensue. Fritz had a chat with the ADA on the case. Jenkins wasn't so bad. He was just kind of drab. Fritz went over every detail: the informant who tipped them off, the surveillance team they did on El Torro's customers, the stakeout for the shipment, the arrest, seizure, drug analysis at the lab. All of this was in his file, can't the guy just read it. No, he has to hear it verbatim and make sure it matches what his report says._ I'm not a damn rookie, _Fritz thought to himself. Finally, it was lunch time.

Brenda's phone rang. "Hey, Baby," she answered.

"I miss you."

"Work's that boring Fritzi?"

"You have no idea. I just had a lovely debriefing with nauseating P Jenkins." He was so boring, he made you want to throw up, just so something happened.

"Play nice. That's what you always used to tell me," Brenda laughed. Fritz finally learned what it's like to have to work with irrelevant people.

"I could kick myself for that," Fritz muttered. "How's your day?"

"Same old, Same old. FID is in a pissing match with Traffic because one of the Traffic officers accidentally ran over a hobo. The family is threatening to sue, and we have been asked to diffuse the situation and help ascertain if there was an actual crime to investigate."

"This is same old, same old." Fritz was surprised. "This sounds like a hot mess."

"Which is same old, same old to me. The family creates this big scene because their poor brother died. Where were they when he needed them. No where. They could have taken him in with them, put him in a motel. No, they left him on the street to fend for himself and magically appear when there's a payday to be had."

"Aren't you the optimist today?"

"I'm just ready to go home. There was no crime. It was dark. The traffic light was out. The man ran out of nowhere in between two parked cars. The officer had no chance to stop. A healthy man wouldn't have died, but this guy was so malnourished that he was brittle. Can't he just have a funeral and finally become a human being, not just someone's commodity. There was no intentional use of force. I don't see why FID even cares."

"Who runs it now?"

"Some Branson guy that Taylor appointed. He's an ass."

"He's friends with Taylor. What did you expect?"

"Not much," Brenda admitted. "I'll see you at home, baby."

"Bye, Love."

Fritz went back to his turkey sandwich, not very exciting. After lunch, he walked back to his car. A store caught his eye. He couldn't tell what they sold. They called themselves in charge. There were bars on the windows and it was not easy to see in from the outside. Fritz looked at his watch. He had a little time and he wondered inside.

He got carded at the door. He showed his ID and went inside. There was nothing on the main floor. Everything was in the basement. It was a bondage shop: swings, whips, ticklers, nipple clamps, crops, a suspension rig, gags, paddles, dildo's on sticks, gloves, some toys he couldn't identify- weird looking metal balls, some pyramid shaped stuff with flared bases and there was clothes as well: leather harnesses, assless chaps, boots, chastity belts, dominatrix stuff, very tiny skirts and bras with an open front. Fritz didn't know how to use all of this stuff, but he knew he wanted to use some of it on Brenda. _This will really make her scream_, he thought as he imagined her in one of the slutty leather outfits, tied up. _Ass exposed and bent over my knee, _Fritz muttered to himself. He knew where another wish would go.

"Can I help you with something?" Fritz jumped at the sound of the young sales associate. She was small and asian in a school-girl outfit. He was surprised to see her there, although it wasn't that surprising. She was probably really good for business.

"I don't really know where to start," Fritz stammered. "I want to get something for me and my wife, but I don't know …."

"Let's start here." Amy showed Fritz some books and grabbed him a comprehensive one for beginners. She also showed him the Ben-Wa balls, some silk rope, a feather tickler and the easiest going clamps. She saw him eyeing the paddles, so she grabbed him the softest one and a book on giving spankings.

Fritz left the place with a lot of stuff and ready to play. "Shit!" He looked at the time, and he was way past his lunch break.

He threw the stuff in the trunk and peeled out.

Bobby sent his resume to five different places, and one of them was even hiring ASAP. Their previous general contractor walked off on the job, so he had an interview for Wednesday. He came home for lunch and took Hunter out for a run. He came around back to see police tape up. He tied Hunter to a tree and wondered up to the scene to see what happened.

"All I see is a ditch. This must have been the crime of the century."

"Looking for something," a uniform came up from behind him.

"I was just wondering what happened here. Nosiness I guess."

"Hmm." The uniform was suspicious. The guy looked big and strong and a woman had been strangled and ditched there. "So you weren't returning to the scene of the crime."

"I've never been here before. I just moved here from Atlanta."

The guy did have a twang to his voice. Maybe he was just a spectator. People come out for this kind of crap. Don't know why. See one murder, see them all.

"Look my name is Clay Johnson. I'm just a busy body, guess it runs in the family."

"Johnson did you say? You wouldn't happen to be Chief Johnson's brother would you."

"Actually I would. Do you know her?"

"No, but my brother works Traffic, and her office is given one of his guys a hard time."

"I could talk to her," Jr. offered, ready to get out of there.

"That would be great. I never saw you here."

Clay and Hunter went home. After she got her water, he gave Brenda a call.

"Hey sis."

"Bobby, how was the job hunt."

"It wasn't too bad. I have an interview."

"Great. Hopefully, it'll pan out."

"Look, are you investigating a guy in traffic right now."

"How'd you hear about that?"

"A little birdie. Anyway, apparently you're giving him a hard time?"

"Me. FID is giving him a hard time. I have no control over them. They're in a huff because there were muddy footprints."

"Muddy footprints?"

"Yeah. They didn't match the victim, so they think someone chased him into the street, but the cop didn't see anyone. I can't explain the footprints, so they won't drop it."

"Who knows how long those footprints were there?"

"It had been raining that evening. The footprints looked pretty fresh to the responding officers. I feel bad for the guy. He probably didn't do anything wrong, but someone chased that victim into the street. He was running from somebody, and until we find him..."

"I know, but try and play nice."

"Why does everyone tell me that?"

"You know why. See you at home B."

Clay hoped that this would clear him out of dodge. He didn't know what happened in that ditch, but he didn't want anything to do with the case.

He showered and gave Charlie a call.

"Hey, Buttercup, how was class today?"

"Same old, Same old."

"That much fun."

"The same kids run their mouths citing philosophers whose books they never read beyond the first chapter and our professor pretends to be fascinated as she plays Angry Birds on her computer. I'm really getting my money's worth."

"You mean my money's worth. All your classes can't be that bad."

"No. Just this mandatory English class. No one would take it voluntarily. I think this course exists to give our professor a job."

"Be nice."

"She's nailing the Dean. It's a scam."

Bobby laughed. "It's good to hear from you. Do you think you would want to come to LA for Christmas?"

"Yes! Will Aunt Brenda be there?"

"I assume so. I think Grandpa's staying in Florida, and you know Brenda doesn't want to visit uncle Clay."

"It's his wife she doesn't want to visit."

"How's your mother?"

"Apparently, she found a Sugar Daddy. Some entrepreneur or something. I bet it's a scam."

"Try and be happy for her."

"Why she's a ho?"

"Charlene Johnson. Do not speak of your mother that way?"

"Do not call me Charlene."

"Try and be nice to your mom. She is a broken person."

"She's just selfish, Dad. She always has been, but I'll try to be nice."

"Just try."

"How's the divorce going?"

"I dunno. I left everything with Cousin Jacob."

"That fool."

"Charlene!"

"Charlie."

"He's a nice guy and he's a lawyer."

"He barely passed the bar, and he has no clients, because he's not the sharpest tool in the box."

"He's what I have, so it will have to do."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Bye Dad"

"Bye Charlie."

_When did Charlie become so contemptuous?_ Clay asked himself as he got ready to get in the shower. He sighed and scrubbed away his afternoon.

(Major Crimes)

At the morgue, Morales had another body to deal with. This hobo got hit by a car. He had osteoporosis, which wasn't a good sign and in is pants was a sewn in hard object. Morales cut open the pants and pulled out a diamond necklace. It actually looked real. "Where the hell did he get this?" He looked at his file and found out that both Branson and Chief Johnson were looking into the case. He called the Chief, Branson was a total ass.

"Hey Chief Johnson," I found a diamond necklace in your victim's clothes.

"A real one?" she asked with her southern drawl.

"It appears so. I took a picture, and it should appear in your e-mail."

Brenda checked, and sure enough, there it was. "How come you didn't see this before?"

"It was sewn into the fabric, not in a pocket, and I was told to give priority to the Prescott murder."

"I will come over and pick it up. Do tell me if you find anymore mysterious items on this guy."

Morales looked at the corpse again. His bones were crap. He hadn't eaten properly in years, and his body leeched out the calcium, trying to survive. His stomach had been empty when he died. _If he couldn't eat, why not pawn the necklace? _He drew out a sample for a toxic screen and sent it to the lab. He examined the rest of the body. His joints were poor, and this guy didn't stand much of a chance.

Brenda walked into the LAPD precinct with Gabriel. She got a visitor's badge, which felt odd, and they went down to the morgue.

"Chief Johnson, Detective Gabriel, good to see you." He was happy to see them. He missed Brenda's antics, and Gabriel was a cutie.

"I hear you have a wedding comingC up. Congratulations!"

"Oh Yes. Since Prop 8 got overturned, we decided to tie the knot. Invitations will be forthcoming."

"Great. So our victim had some bling."

Gabriel was surprised she knew what bling was.

"I've seen rap videos," she answered. Morales and Gabriel laughed at that response.

"Here it is." Morales held up the necklace. It was exquisite. Diamonds formed a flower in the middle with a diamond chain to surround them. It looked like it cost a lot of money.

"Now this was a reason to chase a hobo into the street." She took the necklace that was in an evidence bag.

"Gabriel, we need to find out who purchased this necklace and for whom. Hopefully, we can figure out how our victim got it."

"What about FID?"

"We'll tell them, after I know how he got it." Brenda wasn't about to play nice with Branson. She wanted answers, not red tape.

Gabriel took the necklace and scanned a picture of it. He found the original jeweler, which was Littman Jewelers. They were not happy to see that their work ended up in the hands of a dead homeless man, but they faxed a copy of their original receipt. A Devin McAdams bought it two years ago. Next job, find this guy.

"Is there anything else, you can tell us about this man?"

"He wasn't hit very hard with the car. This guy had been under eating for a long time. He died on an empty stomach and his joints were crap."

"He died on an empty stomach with a necklace like that."

"Maybe he was going to try to sell it."

"Maybe he already had."

Brenda had her new squad send a copy of the necklace and sent it to all of the pawn shops, canvas the neighborhood to see if anyone saw or heard anything suspicious, and interview people at the nearby homeless shelter and soup kitchen to see what they could find out about the necklace or the victim.

Then, she headed home, ready to put this case off her mind for at least a day.


	8. Jewels Sparkle in the Sun

(Major Crimes)

Tao finally figured out why he couldn't find this lawyer. He retired and moved to Spain 7 years ago. Tao called him up. He remembered Holly. Most of his clients weren't juveniles. His mother paid the bill. He didn't get another call from her when Holly was arrested again. He was surprised to hear that she had gotten in trouble again, and even more surprised to hear she had been murdered. He gave the number to his secretary and said she could fax over her file. Privilege dies with the patient, and who would sue him?

"What happened to your practice when you retired?" Tao asked.

"I left it with Jeremy Dunlap, my then partner. He should be able to tell you if Holly came back."

Flynn was getting ready for work. He looked at his tie. It was like all of his other ties, but today, it didn't seem quite good enough. He sighed and continued to get ready. He grabbed a banana and a granola bar and ran out the door.

He and Provenza finally tracked down Holly's next door neighbor from last year. The guy moved across town and was not eager to be interviewed.

"I moved away when I heard that nasty bitch lived next door. I know nothing," Thomas claimed.

They hauled him to the station and put him in interview one. Raydor woke and drove Rusty to school. He was cranky, like he always was when it was early, but she had to get to work. She wanted this case closed ASAP. It was not fun having to explore the life and death of a child molester.

"Have a good day, Rusty."

"Yeah um bye," he muttered as he walked inside. He was sure to have a boring day, surrounded by boring people.

Raydor got to the squad room and found out that the neighbor was awaiting her.

She took Flynn into the interview room with her.

"Teacher's pet," Provenza whispered.

"The new Gabriel," Sanchez followed.

Flynn rolled his eyes. He was going to have to do something naughty. Teacher's pet, he was not

"I don't know crap," Thomas yelled.

"Well, we should be done rather soon then," Raydor smiled. She was not ready to let this fool get the best of her. "How long did you live next to Holly?"

"Only for 6 months before she skipped town."

"She was murdered."

'Not by me," Thomas threw his hands up. "I had a date that night."

"We didn't mention a night," Flynn thought this guy was a weird.

"I have a date every night. I'm quite the ladies man," Thomas grinned, eyeing the captain up and down.

She was disgusted. "Did you hear anything between May 18th-21st of last year?"

"I heard my bitch yelling my name," he laughed.

"Who would be the bitch if we put you in lockup for 48 hours?" Flynn had it with this fool.

"Whoa Whoa! I was just messing. I heard her arguing on the 19th I think."

"Did you see him?"

"Not really. I just heard. You ruined my life. I'll kill you before I let you ruin another child. I should have killed you years ago. Then I heard a door slam, and I guess he stormed out."

"You didn't mention this before."

"No one asked me about it, and I didn't hear a murder or nothing."

"Did you hear from her again?"

"No. That was the last day I saw her. When the cops came by on Monday, I assumed she fled."

"Do you think you would recognize the voice if you heard it again?"

"Maybe."

They cut him loose. He had no known reason to kill her.

The gang watched the interview. They didn't see much of a suspect in Thomas, and they were eager to find out with whom she had been arguing. It sounded like a victim confronted her. What happened to her brother?

Raydor told Sanchez to look for him. She wanted to have a second chat with him.

Gabriel found this Devin McAdams. He was at his beach front house with two bikini bimbos by his side. They fed him grapes and poured booze into his mouth. This guy hardly looked like he would kill anyone over a necklace, or anything for that matter. He looked like he never left his chair. Who could blame him. "Mr. McAdams?" he began.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out."

"I am Detective Sgt. Gabriel of the LAPD. Do you mind if I …."

"If you're here about the SEC crap, talk to my lawyer."

"I have nothing to do with that. I wanted to ask you about a necklace that you purchased two years ago." Gabriel showed him a photo and a copy of the receipt.

"Yeah, I bought that. So what?" He lit a cigar.

"We found it sewn into the pants of a homeless man."

"How'd he get that?"

"We were hoping you could help us figure that out. Could you tell me for whom you purchased it."

"I bought it for this chick. It was a while ago. I'm not sure which one. I buy jewelry for lots of girls."

"He bought me this ring." One girl piped in.

"Do you have a secretary or an assistant who would remember?"

"Yeah! Greg! Get your ass out HERE"

This tired looking young man ran outside. "Yes, Devin."

"Do you remember which chica got this necklace?"

Greg looked at the picture. "Yeah, that went to Holly."

"Holly?"

"Holly Preston, I think."

Gabriel called the Chief. "He thinks the necklace went to a Holly Preston."

"Could it have been a Holly Prescott?" Chief was hoping her case wouldn't collide with Major Crimes, but you never knew.

"I'll check." To Greg, "Could it have been a Holly Prescott?"

"Uh. Maybe"

Gabriel relayed this to the Chief who sent a photo to Gabriel's phone. He showed it to Devin and Greg.

"I remember her now. She was a pretty little thing, pretty easy. I showed her that necklace, and she got right down on her knees."

The Chief could hear him on the phone. _What a pig!_

"Do you remember the last time you saw Holly?" Gabriel asked Devin.

"Um! Probably a couple of months after she got the necklace. I was starting to get bored, and when the presents stopped, she wandered away. If you want more on her, try the Regal Country Club. She was a regular there."

Gabriel headed back to find the Chief. He got to the room and told her what he learned from Devin.

"Now how do I deal with this?" She asked herself aloud. She wasn't sure that this had anything to do with the Prescott murder, but it was odd that a man got ran over while possessing a necklace that had been given to her. Maybe the others found something useful.

"Holly pawned the necklace at A1 Pawn Shop in January of 2012," Mack told the Chief. "She got 5k for it."

"Does the owner remember her?"

"Even better," he still had the receipt." He showed it to the Chief. It had a photocopy of her driver's license and a signature.

"Where did the necklace go from there?"

"The owner tried to sell it for a couple of months. When it didn't go, he auctioned it and got 6k. The action house is faxing over its records on the purchaser."

"I guess I should call the Captain."

Raydor's phone rang. "Why would Brenda be calling me?"

"Hello, Chief."

"Sharon, you can call me Brenda."

"Hello, Brenda. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I have some information on Prescott that I thought you might like to hear."

"Like what."

"Gabriel had a chat with one of her old boyfriends."

"Why?" Sharon interrupted. _Brenda was not taking over this case. _The squad was working smoothly and she didn't need Miss. Atlanta to mess it up.

"Because he is a potential witness in our case. Anyway, we were tracking down this necklace, and our witness had purchased it for Miss. Prescott two years ago."

"What necklace?"

"Would you hush and let me go first for once?" _Damn Darth Raydor can be rather pushy._

"Sorry, Chief. I mean sorry, Brenda. Go on."

"We found this expensive necklace on a dead hobo. We found the jeweler that sold it to this Devin McAdams. He told us he bought it for Holly Prescott and gave it to her two years ago. He hasn't heard from her since 2011. Anyway, according to him, she's a regular at the Regal Country Club."

"Did she meet other men at that club?"

"I didn't ask. It's not my case. I thought you would like to know that she got expensive jewelry and would pawn it for cash and hang out where the rich guys are."

"Well thank you Brenda. Isn't FID working on that hobo case too?"

"So."

"So, did you tell them about the necklace?"

"They're investigating the officer's conduct, not the hobo's bling."

"Play fair, Brenda. Bye." Maybe Brenda was on to something. "Sykes. Sanchez" Raydor called as she exited her office. "Can you fax Prescott's picture around to the local pawn shops and see if she ever pawned any jewelry or anything at them?"

"Yes Captain," Sanchez and Sykes got to work. _What an odd request! _Sanchez thought.

"Flynn and Provenza, could you head to the Regal Country Club and find out when Holly was there and with whom she fraternized."

"Where's Tao?"

"He's still trying to figure out what happened with Holly's legal representation and figure out who her doctors were."

Before Raydor could say what she wanted from Tao, her phone rang. "Yes, Chief Taylor, I'll be right up."

"What's going on with the Prescott case?"

"Well, she was strangled, so presumably her killer drove her car to Mexico. We're working with the Mexican authorities to have it shipped back."

"We haven't done that already?"

"They sent agents to the car to look at it there and look for signs of her in Mexico, not signs of who killed her,"

"We found out she got into an argument with someone around the time she was killed. She got rich men to buy her expensive jewelry and would pawn it for cash when she needed it. Her mother had cut her off, so we're trying to figure out who paid for her lawyer and all these doctors, likely her most recent Sugar Daddy. Her brother hated her guts, but we have no evidence on him yet."

"So you have a bunch of loose ends."

"Right now. As we get more information, hopefully, a picture will emerge."

Branson stormed into the office. "That Bitch is ruining my case."

Raydor was curious as to what Brenda did to set him off. She wasn't sure if she should stay or go, but she wanted to find out.

"That's all for now. Thank you, Captain."

Raydor made it out the door, and listened on the outside.

"She talks to Morales without me. Grabs evidence and doesn't even tell me about it. Her investigators have been all over town, not having any respect for FID at all."

"Chief Johnson can be a prickly pear, but she closes cases. If there's more to this than an accident, she'll figure it out." Taylor was no friend of Brenda's, but somehow Branson was even more hated than she was. The last thing he needed was Branson making her look like some kind of a hero. "What did she do exactly?"

"Morales called her to the morgue, and gave her a necklace the victim had when he was run over. That could be a motive for Officer Walters to hit him."

"I'll call the Chief." Taylor did not want her in his office, but he didn't see a way out at the moment.

"Chief Johnson"

"Chief Taylor, how are you?"

"I'm here with Officer Branson. Are you free for a meeting?"

"What about?"

"He wants to know about a necklace."

Brenda sighed. She didn't like having meetings, when she didn't already know the answers to all of the questions. She said she'd be there in 20.

On her way out of the building, Bobby arrived.

"Hey! What brings you here?"

"I was done dropping off resumes, and I thought I'd take my little sis to lunch."

"Want to ride with me first. I have to have a quick meeting."

"A meeting?"

"Just a chance for some men to bicker. It won't take too long."

"All right." Bobby hopped in the car and went with Brenda.

She parked the car and went inside. They both had to get visitor's badges. Brenda went up to Taylor's office. Bobby went off on his own.

"I'm going to explore." Bobby went looking for the Traffic Division. He wanted to hear about this case that was causing all the trouble.

"There's not much to tell," Brenda said when she got to Taylor's office. "The victim had it. We don't know how he got it. The original owner gave it to a girl who pawned it. The pawnshop sold it to an auction house, and we are still tracking down the chain of title."

"Why wasn't I informed about this?"

"You're investigating Officer Walters. Not this dead guys pants."

Taylor tried not to laugh. It was pretty funny.

"It could be a motive," Branson was not amused.

"How would he have seen a necklace that was sewn into his pants. Morales didn't even notice it immediately."

"He could have known about the necklace and hit him on purpose."

"Why didn't he take the necklace after he hit him?" Brenda thought he was dumb as a bucket of rocks.

"There's a dash cam."

"Why hit him on purpose if he was afraid of a dash cam?"

Branson opened his mouth to answer, but Chief Johnson cut him off.

"We can't know if Officer Walters knew about the necklace until we know how the victim got it. There's nothing of interest to report until we get to the end of the chain, and once I know, you'll know."

"Any luck on the footprints?"

"Just size 14 generic Nikes. A dime a dozen in this city."

"Anything else you didn't tell me?"

She could have told them that the necklace might link the case to Prescott, but she decided against it. "No," she lied. "If you don't mind, I am having lunch with my brother. Good day, Chief. Captain" She made a quick exit.

"Can you believe her?" Branson was seething.

"Just focus on your case. I have some friends in the Prosecutor's office. They will be more agreeable."

Branson left. He did not want to deal with this Bitch.

Bobby found traffic and wondered in.

"Can I help you?" a detective asked him.

"Maybe. My sister is working on this case about a guy hear who hit a hobo. I was wondering if it was resolved yet."

"She didn't tell you."

"She's more of a work first, chat second kind of girl."

"No. Officer Walters is still at home, on paid leave. Can you tell your sister to clear him already?"

"It's not her call. She can't figure out something about some footprints."

The uniform's brother poked his head out. "You the guy my brother saw yesterday."

"Yeah."

"Come in."

Bobby wondered into the guys office, small but quaint. He had a picture of him with a woman and a little girl, a wife and daughter. Bobby remembered those days.

"Sarah and Casey," he said.

"You have a lovely family."

"Thanks. So what does your sister want out of all of this."

"She said FID thinks some guy chased the victim into the street and that's why he got hit."

"That would clear Walters. Why is he still home."

"She can't find the person who was chasing him. She just got muddy footprints who could be anyones."

The Lieutenant sighed.

"My sister is the best. If anyone could find a guy with nothing to go on but some muddy footprints, she could." Bobby was confident that Brenda would figure it all out.

"I hope so. Walters is a good guy. He's bored at home."

Bobby's phone rang. "That's her now. Hey Bren, you learn anything new. No, what was the point of the meeting? All right, meet you downstairs."

Bobby walked down the hall, whistling as he went. He didn't see Captain Raydor in his path until he bumped right into her. "Sorry, Ma'am," he said with his twang. "Didn't see you there." Bobby kept walking.

_Who was that guy?_ Sharon wondered. He was tall, chestnut brown hair, big brown eyes, and a big mouth. He looked new but familiar all at once. Whoever he was, he was a space cadet. He almost made her spill her tea on her Armani suit. He also smelled nice. _Back to work Raydor._ She went to her squad room and continued to work.


	9. Eat your Veggies

**Warning some BDSM action** I don't know if those trigger people. If so, **DO NOT READ **

Andrea was in bed. It wasn't time to sleep yet, but mer mind was garbled and confused. She didn't know if she should do anything about her crush on Flynn or just let it go. What if he didn't like her? What if they went out and it was a disaster? She had too much worry and not enough faith. Her phone rang.

"Hello. Hey Brenda what's up?"

"Do you want to have a girls' day on Saturday?"

"A What?" Andrea was not expecting this.

"You know, hair, nails, spa, girl stuff?"

"You do that stuff?"

"I want to get dolled up. Fritz has the Monday off, and I want this weekend to be perfect."

"Ok. Sure." Andrea had nothing better to do. She would otherwise just be reading or maybe going for a run.

"I'll call Sharon and see if she's free." Just like that, Brenda hung up the phone.

_Sharon and Brenda girlfriends? _Now Andrea's head was really garbled.

Fritz came home to a wife who was chatting/arguing on the phone with someone.

"How could you not want to go to the spa?"

"I have a murder, Chief Johnson."

"It's Brenda, and the body will still be there when you get back."

"You should talk. Like you ever took time away from work."

"I am taking time now."

"You don't even work on Saturdays."

"You have a capable team. I know, I made them so. Come on!" Brenda could be really pushy.

Sharon knew that getting Brenda to back down was not always worth the effort. "If no new developments interfere, I suppose I could make it."

"Great, I'll make the appointment." Brenda hung up before she could back out.

"What was that about?"

"Hey Fritzi." Brenda greeted her man with a kiss. "I was just wrangling Sharon into coming with us on girls day."

"I don't think I qualify," Fritz laughed.

"Not you, Silly" Brenda said with her drawl. "Me and Andrea."

"You all are going on a girls day, to do what exactly."

"Girl things, talking about boys." She poked Fritz's belly and laughed.

"And what would you say about me."

"I can't say. That would ruin the fun." Brenda rested her hands on his shoulders and gave him another kiss.

"Yuck, Get a room." Bobby yelled as he came in for another beer.

_Get an apartment _Fritz thought as his hands reached the small part of Brenda's back.

Bobby checked on his gumbo. It could use a little more time to simmer. "20 minutes on dinner," he yelled. Then he retreated to his room with his beer. Hunter followed him. Joel followed her.

"Aren't they the three musketeers," Brenda snickered.

"How was your day, Baby?" Fritz was so glad to have Brenda home at dinner time.

"It was odd. The homeless guy who got mowed down had jewelry sewn into his pants. It appears that someone chased him into the street. The jewelry once belonged to a woman who as murdered." Brenda was baffled by this case.

"Once belonged?"

"She pawned it a while ago. I don't think it had anything to do with why she died. Maybe it's cursed."

"It's odd that he sewed the jewelry into his pants. It's like he didn't want anyone to find it."

An idea went off in Brenda's head as soon as Fritzi made that comment. "You're right." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and got on the phone with Gabriel.

_Some things never change_ Fritz thought as he went to get some juice from the fridge.

"Hey, Gabriel, can you check and see if that necklace was reported stolen in either LA or any neighboring counties. The victim was trying to hide it. There must have been a reason why." Soon enough, Brenda was off the phone and awaiting dinner.

Bobby came back and it was all ready. "Let's get to it."

"How's the job search coming?" Fritz asked. _Tell me someone wants you, somewhere._

"I have an interview tomorrow. I dropped off some more resumes today." Bobby was hoping to find something soon. He was always a workerbee.

"How's that case coming along, Bren?" Bobby was hoping they would clear that guy soon. Bobby didn't know him, but he knew what it was like to be out of work. It sucks.

"Still trying to get a clear picture on why he was being chased. It appears to have something to do with expensive jewelry. Hopefully, the records will all come in tomorrow, and I will be able to get a clearer picture. How about you Bobby? Meet any interesting people since you got here."

"I've meet some odd people. This one receptionist I talked to had more holes in her head than a block of swiss cheese, piercings everywhere. She looked like a dart board."

Brenda snickered. People didn't look like that in Atlanta.

"That's nothing," Fritz said. "There's all kind of odd behavior in this place. Welcome to LA."

The gumbo was delicious. Brenda was jealous of Bobby's ability to cook. _Why didn't I inherit it?_ It really is just practice, which Brenda never did.

After dinner, Brenda cleared the plates, and Fritz took the opportunity to hide the booty he bought in his half of the closet. When Brenda got to the room, he had a book in his hands and was pretending to read it.

"How do you want to spend this weekend, Babe?"

"I have some ideas," Fritz replied. Fritz had been reading his books in his office when he was supposed to be working. His case was a drag. He was not very motivated by it now that the action was gone.

"Like..."

"Like, you'll find out this weekend." He loved teasing Brenda.

"You're no fun."

"I'm plenty of fun." Fritz had a wicked smile. She had no idea how much fun they would have.

Brenda saw his Cheshire like grin and knew Fritz wanted something really naughty. She was little scared but very excited.

She curled up beside him and kissed him on the side of the neck. "You smell good."

Fritz turned to her and threw his book on the chair. He pulled her under him and got to work. Normally, he would undress her slowly and relish in every minute of seeing her flesh, but he wanted it quick and dirty. Her skirt went up, her panties pushed down to her ankles, and he started biting her collar bone.

Brenda replied by pulling off his belt and sliding down his pants. She unbuttoned his shirt, but she didn't get a chance to take it off before he was pulling off hers. They tried to rush out of their clothes so fast that they got tangled up in each other. They had to stop, regroup and start again. The clothes got off. They embraced each other and the rolling match began.

They would kiss and roll on top of each other, each one trying to get control. Brenda did her little bat move where she grabbed the covers and pounced on him, looking like a bat jumping off a tree limb. They disappeared under the blankets, looking like two lumps that gets spiraling around each other. Their hands reached each others bodies and they groped and pinched each other all over.

Eventually, Fritz got to be on top, and he found his way into her wet folds. She grunted as he thrust his way in her, and she started biting his chest and scratching his back. Fritz returned the favor, biting her shoulders and near her collar bone. They were a sweaty, sticky mess. Fritz pressed his mouth against his wife's, partially to keep her from screaming, in part because he loved her luscious lips. Brenda moaned in his mouth. His lips tasted salty, probably because they were sweating buckets under the covers. Brenda pushed them away and a rush of cold air hit their naked flesh. The feeling send chills down Brenda's spine, and she gasped.

Fritz was going to lose it soon. He could tell Brenda wasn't ready yet, so he tried to get her there. His fingers found her sensitive nub, and he started to rub her.

Brenda started to get close, but she wasn't quite there when Fritz exploded into her. He collapsed next to her, and she curled into him.

"I should have," before he could finish his sentence, Brenda kissed him passionately. Their tongues darted and wrangled with each other. Then, she let him go and put on a nightie. "I'll be back," she said with a smile. She slipped into the kitchen and returned with an arm behind her back.

"What's that you got there?"

Brenda revealed a cucumber.

_WTF _Fritz thought.

Brenda's intentions became clear when she lied on the bed and brought the hard object to her swollen lips. She rubbed her clit, getting her green friend nice and wet and then, she pushed it in slowly. It was cold, which was an odd sensation, but it felt marvelous. Brenda pushed and pulled with her hand, filling her aching cavern with a cucumber. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her skin was red, and glistening with sweat, her hair a mess, her thighs splayed out wide. Fritz got quite a show as he watched his wife pleasure herself.

It only took a couple of minutes to finish the job. Brenda's back arched, her hips started bucking wildly, and she came hard, covering the cucumber in her juices.

_What a kinky bitch,_ Fritz thought to himself. He couldn't wait for this weekend. He was going to do all kinds of nasty things to her.

"Did you like the show?" Brenda smiled. She knew he loved it.

"You're a naughty girl. That was the last cucumber."

"What are you going to do about it?

"Buy more?"

"You know what naughty girls need, punishment." Brenda smirked as she slowly crawled toward her love.

"How do you propose I do that?"

"Be creative," she hissed. Brenda was on her hands and knees, tempting him, daring him to take control of her body.

Fritz's hands instinctively found her feminine hips. He pulled her to his waist and sat up so he was kneeling beside her.

He put his knee up. "Naughty girls get punished." He motioned for her to lie across his thigh. She obliged, looking into his eyes the whole time. He stoked her hair softly with his hand and rubbed her ass gently. Once he was certain his hand was in position, smack. Her left cheek got a little red

Brenda moaned, but she didn't shy away. She liked it when he got rough.

Fritz realized she would be too noisy, so he grabbed the cucumber and offered it to her. She sucked it readily. She liked her taste. She loved to kiss Fritz after he went down on her. He thought it was validation for his efforts. She had a more self-serving purpose.

He hit the right cheek. He alternated between rounds, each round a little harder than the last. Brenda loved the sensation. It would sting, and then it would gradually fade away. When he spanked her, her clit would grind against his leg a little. She wriggled her behind, tempting him further. Soon, her behind was bright red. He felt invigorated and was ready to pound her all night. He didn't want to over do it and his better judgement decided that was enough for today. He put her down on the bed.

She promptly got on her hands and knees. "Aren't you going to take me?" Brenda looked at him, expecting more from him.

He smiled and started to stroke his erection, which had come back as he spanked his wife. He gave her a hard kiss on the mouth and thrust his way into her. Brenda screamed into his mouth during the kiss. Finally, she would get her release. Fritz was in a power top mood. He grabbed her hips and started to thrust aggressively. He only wished he had a mirror, so he could see the look in her eyes as he pounded her into oblivion. _They needed a bedroom mirror, _he decided. _A big one. _

Brenda's mind was full of wild thoughts as Fritz rode her, mainly how to get Fritz to keep riding her. She loved surrendering herself to him. It was freeing in its own way. Her hand naturally slipped to her throbbing clit. Fritz found her hand and put it back on the bed. He started to pound her even harder, his body slamming into hers. She couldn't stay balanced, so Fritz put his arms under hers and held her up. He carried her to the wall and pulled out just long enough to push her back into the wall. He picked up her legs and wrapped them around his hips and started pounding her.

She tried to scream out in pleasure, but his lips found hers first and before long, the sensations of his thrust combined with feeling like a feather got to her, and she started to cum all over him. Her juices flowed down their bodies, making them even messier. Fritz started to suck on her earlobe. That did it and she started cumming again. She was thrashing into the wall, and Fritz didn't want her to hit her head on it, so he put her back on the bed in a swift motion. He was still inside her and kept thrusting. He stood in front of the bed and she lied on her back. It wasn't long before he was ready to shoot his load. Right before he was about to fill her, he pulled out, instead spraying his seed all over her face and chest.

He lied down next to her, both of them sideways on the bed and out of breath. They had gone through a lot in the past hour and neither of them had any words or any air with which to say them.

After what felt like forever, but was probably only five minutes, Friz asked "You wanna shower."

"In a bit. I like it when I'm covered in your cum," Brenda admitted.

_What a kinky bitch! _Fritz thought. _How the FUCK _did it take me so long to notice. His hand slipped in hers and their fingers laced. For a long time, he waited for Brenda to be his. He never thought he would be like his. He let out a deep breath and smiled.


	10. The Closer Returns

Bobby's Interview

"Hello Mr. Johnson." A grey-haired man shook Bobby's hand.

"Hello, Sir." Bobby answered. His manners were at their finest today.

"Call me Chuck."

"Bobby."

"So you're looking to be our general contractor. What makes you think you can make the cut?"

"I have been working on construction since I was 18. I worked for my uncle during the summers and I went to school to study business at UGA. After I graduated, I came home to Atlanta and worked my way up"

"You didn't go into finance?"

"The stock market was junk, and my uncle was hiring, so I got to work building low-income housing, never looked back."

"How long have you been a general contractor?"

"Since 2002."

"What projects have you done?"

"A preschool, lots of houses, restaurants, office buildings, a bridge."

"You've done a lot of stuff." Chuck was impressed, well if he was honest about this all.

"Yeah. Atlanta's business was booming before 2008. People were throwing up projects left and right."

"You've been in the market a long time, looking to retire soon?" Chuck didn't want a guy trying to drain a pension as soon as he got there.

"I'll work until I'm dead, or until they send me home, whatever happens first." Bobby meant that. He was no homebody.

"How long have you been in LA?"

"5 days."

"How do you like it?"

"I like it. The nights are dry and cool, unlike sticky Atlanta."

"Do you think you'll get homesick and go back?" Chuck didn't want to hire Bobby just to lose him.

"There's nothing for me there anymore. My dad left. My sister moved here and brothers scattered. My daughter went on to college. Nothing to be homesick about."

"Do you have any references?" Chuck wanted to verify this stuff. Bobby sounded to good to be true.

Bobby fished out a business card and handed it to Chuck. "Jeff is the president of the company where I worked. He can tell you all about me."

"A pleasure Bobby." They shook hands again, and Bobby was out the door. Hopefully, this would pan out.

Prosecutor's Office

Brenda stared at the board in the team room. Nothing added up. Jackie came in with the information from the auction. "The necklace was sold to a Mr. Schmidt."

"The necklace came up in a police report," Gabriel announced.

"It was stolen?" Brenda hoped this would resolve the matter.

"Oh no. It was destroyed in an fire. The insurance company paid out a $100k claim on a warehouse fire, where a bunch of Mr. Schmidt's valuables were lost, including this necklace."

"That is a very good reason to hide the necklace."

"Can you get the insurance agent to handled the case here?"

"He's on his way?" Gabriel knew where the Chief was going.

"Great."

"Where was this warehouse?"

"It was here, Chief." Gabriel put a pin on the map, where the warehouse was located. It was only two blocks away from where the homeless man had been run over, and it was a block away from where he and his friends had spent their time on the street.

_It all makes sense now._ Brenda thought to herself. "Mr. Schmidt probably overinsured the items in his warehouse, and set it on fire to collect the money. He discarded the goods and kept the cash. . Our victim gets a hold of the necklace somehow and hides it. Maybe, he saw Mr. Schmidt set the fire. Later, Mr. Schmidt sees the man with it, and tries to get it back. He chases him into the street. He gets hit by the car, and Schmidt takes off the other way."

"How did the victim get the jewelry?" This sounded convoluted to Jackie.

"Maybe, he just threw it in the trash. He figured it would go to the dump and no one would ever see it again, and our victim might have been checking trash cans and dumpsters for food or goods. He might have even seen the fire. followed Mr. Schmidt to the dumpster, and retrieved the necklace after he left."

"How do we prove any of this?" This sounded like a mess to Jackie.

"We find his friends. If our victim found a necklace like this, he must have told someone." Brenda and Gabriel went to the block where the homeless people hang out. Brenda came equipped with a bottle of bourbon. At first, no one said anything to her, but when she showed her bottle, she got a lot of cooperation.

A man tried to grab it from her.

"Not so fast. If you answer my questions, it's all yours." The man nodded.

"Did you know this man?" Brenda showed him a picture of their victim.

"Diver Sam. He was always the first one to dive, head first, into a dumpster, a can, anything looking for something that would be useful."

"Did you ever see him with this?" Brenda showed a picture of the necklace.

"He didn't want me to talk about it. He said it was a secret."

"If you help me, I can find the man who hurt Sam." Brenda gave him her doe eyes.

"He said a man just threw it in the trash."

"Did he say where he got it?" The man took Brenda and Gabriel to a dumpster down the street from the burnt out warehouse.

"Did he find anything else?"

The man brought them back to the camp where there were rings and broaches. She nodded at Gabriel who took pictures of them all on his phone. He texted the photos to the insurance agent.

_Now how do I get them to give up their loot_. Brenda thought to herself. She could just have Gabriel seize it, but homeless people are not always mentally there. They likely wouldn't understand. She handed the man the bottle of bourbon.

"Thank you very much! Gabriel with me."

"You're not going to take …."

"With me Please." They walked around the block. "If the insurance company can recover the jewelry which they already paid for, they would likely offer these people a reward. If we seize it now, they would likely get nada."

They returned to the office, where an angry insurance adjuster was awaiting them. Henry Dean was not thrilled that he had been had again. He thought the policy was large given what went missing, but he had no proof that the buyer hadn't been scammed when he bought the jewelry in the first place. Maybe he thought it was really valuable.

"Mr. Dean, thank you for coming in. Do you recognize this?" Brenda held up the necklace.

"Well, I'll be damned. I heard it was destroyed in a fire."

"Well a homeless man had it when he got chased into a street and then hit by a car."

"That's too bad. I take it you care more about the chaser than insurance fraud."

"That's right. Although, I did find some more jewelry."

"I got the texts. Would we be able to get that back?"

"I'm sure the finders would gladly trade it for a small reward. I hear you have a 5% finders fee for those who uncover insurance fraud"

"We do," he sighed. He was hoping she didn't know about that.

"Great. We can bring you down for a trade."

"We will need proof of intentional fraud first. Mr. Schmidt could claim he thought the jewelry was destroyed and that someone must have robbed the warehouse and set the fire to cover up the robbery."

"Leave that to me." Brenda had Jackie call in Mr. Schmidt and ask him to come in for a chat.

Major Crimes

Sharon Raydor's house.

Sharon looked in the mirror and sighed. She looked as she did every day, combed hair, Armani pants suit, make up and heels, but today, it didn't feel good enough. She sighed and grabbed her bag. "Rusty, school!" she yelled as she got her keys out.

Rusty came running out. His hair was a mess and he shirt wasn't tucked in.

"Go comb your hair." Sharon admonished.

"It's the new look."

"Not in this house."

Rusty sighed and went into the bathroom. He came back with combed hair and a tucked in shirt.

"Much better."

They left. Sharon dropped off Rusty at school. As soon as she was out of sight, Rusty pulled out his shirt and messed up his hair.

Sharon drove into work. She couldn't shake the feeling that something in her life was missing. She didn't know what it was. It irked her.

She got to work. Right before she walked in the door, Flynn was telling a raunchy joke, Provenza was making even worse hand jesters, Sanchez snickered in the corner and Tao was actually trying to work. Sykes just rolled her eyes. As soon as the door opened, everyone jumped into proper place, appearing to work. Sharon knew them too well and knew she interrupted something.

"Tell me you have learned something new since yesterday."

"I spoke to the lawyer who represented her as a juvenile. He retired and moved to Spain. He said we could get her files from his current partner since she's dead."

"Get on that Tao."

"Flynn, Provenza learn anything knew at the country club."

"We learned she preyed on old men with money. She would find a man, get him to buy her jewelry and then bounce after a few months."

"Any jealous men?" Maybe a lead, Sharon thought.

"It appears that they all saw her as the common gold-digging ho. Everyone paid to play and no one seemed to complain. I guess you get what you pay for." Flynn had a fun at the country club. It's not his scene but these guys did not have a car in the world. Lots of money, drink some scotch, play some golf, fuck bitches. They weren't actually doing anything to hurt anyone, unlike many of the rich fucks he has to deal with.

Captain Raydor was not amused.

"We're running background checks on all of her known suitors anyway and looking into where they were during May 18-21st of last year." Provenza piped in.

"Craig Jr. has been staying at a hotel with his father. We have a uniform to make sure he doesn't skip town." Sanchez added.

"Prescott pawned jewelry all the time. She would drive around to different shops trying to get the best deal when she was out of cash. She pawned ruby earrings about two months before she died for 5k. We think she used that money to pay for her civil attorney for her hearing.

"Have we heard from him?"

"He's under investigation for defrauding the court, so he won't talk. Allegedly, he has been hiring doctors to declare offenders cured when they haven't treated them at all and sends fraudulent documents to the court to try and get people off the registry."

"Has this worked?"

"No. He's just scamming sex offenders as well as the court."

"Awesome." Provenza had no problem with sex offenders losing their money.

"Was he under investigation before the Prescott case?"

"No. Actually, but after the new charges came out, he got a death threat, made out of cut out newspaper letters."

It read YOU TRIED TO RELEASE A SICKO INTO THE PUBLIC. YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR OWN BLOOD.

"I assume there was no return address."

"No, but it was sent from Seattle, Washington."

"Bring Craig Jr. in here to answer more questions." Sharon wanted to figure out what was with this guy.

FBI office

"Agent Howard" his boss began. "We want you to take a look at this case. There has been a problem with counterfeit jewelry being sold as real in the area." He handed Fritz a box of jewelry, all fake..

"Are people getting it from pawn shops?" Fritz never got jewelry there. You never know these days.

"Sometimes, but now they're appearing in stores. People buy real jewelry and return a fake with the receipt. See what you can figure out."

Fritz got a stack of receipts. His first plan of attack was contact the jewelry stores and see from where they originally got their jewelry. It's possible that the switches were happening at the source of distribution.

After a couple of hours, he found that some of the stores claimed to have contracts with the original jeweler when they did not, so they might have been selling fakes all along. Fritz requested a list of authorized retailers in the area from each affected manufacturer. He then sent all of the jewelry to appraisers to see what all was fake. The whole piece could be fake. Real jewels could have been switched out for fake ones.

Fritz took a lunch break. He actually just ate lunch this time.

Prosecutor's office.

Brenda sat right across from Mr. Schmidt. "Thank you for coming."

"Sure, although I don't know why I am here, and why was I mirandized."

"Oh we do that every time someone comes in here. You know rules are always changing in the courts. I was hoping that you might have seen an accident that occurred last week." Brenda put on her sweetest smile.

"An accident?"

"Yes, we're interviewing all of the property owners nearby, and you have that warehouse."

"Oh, we just had a fire. I haven't been around since it happened."

"A fire, that's too bad. I hope nothing too valuable was lost."

"Nah! Just some jewelry, but that's what insurance is for."

Dean scowled as he watched the interrogation from upstairs.

"When was the last time you were at the warehouse before the fire?"

"Just that afternoon, and everything was fine."

"Nothing was missing?"

"No."

"So about this accident. A man was hit by a car that fled the scene."

"That's too bad."

"You haven't heard anything about that, have you."

"Not at all."

"Well have you seen the victim before." Brenda showed him a picture.

"No, I haven't." Brenda could smell a lie, and he got a little nervous.

"It is an odd case. We can't figure out why he might have been in the street."

"Maybe he tripped and fell." Mr. Schmidt was hoping they just wanted the driver.

"Maybe."

"We actually think someone might have pushed him. Have you ever seen this man before?" Brenda showed him a picture of the man from earlier

"I actually have. He lurks in the alley sometimes. I'm always worried he's going to steal my stuff."

"We think they might have gotten a hold of some jewelry "

"How would they get jewelry?"

"Now that's the million dollar question or well the 100k question." Brenda was closing in.

"What?"

"Isn't that what your policy was worth, 100k?"

"So what?"

"Isn't this your necklace."

"It looks like mine, but mine was destroyed in a fire."

"Really, like all this other jewelry." Brenda showed him all of the pictures.

"That must have all been stolen."

"Then why was it in the trash."

"Uh!"

"And why was there no sign of forced entry?"

"Uh!"

"And why did you get insurance that was worth twice as much as the policy."

"Uh!"

"This doesn't look good for you. The DA will look at this and think you set the fire, cashed in on the policy and when the homeless man found the jewels, you pushed him in front of the car."

"I didn't push him."

"Insurance fraud is bad. Murder is much worse. If you pushed him in front of the car because he saw you set that fire, then that's felony murder. That's a death sentence."

"No one saw me set the fire."

"So you planned on defrauding the insurance company."

He didn't answer.

"Insurance fraud isn't nearly as serious as murder. If you admit to throwing the jewelry in the trash, where the homeless men must have found it, then we can charge our suspect with murder. The DA will consider your cooperation." Brenda was careful not to offer a specific deal of any kind.

"I threw out the jewels, but I didn't kill no one."

"Did you know that the jewels didn't get tossed out with the trash?"

"No I thought they were long gone."

Brenda dropped her phone. When she went to pick it up, she saw his sneakers were still muddy.

"Take off your shoes."

"Excuse me."

"Take them off."

"No."

"I will have them removed. You are in a prison. As far as I know, you have a shiv in your shoe."

"He took off his shoes and Brenda bagged them."

"What will that prove."

"When I compare the mud on your shoes to the mud on the ground where our victim was killed, it will put you on the scene of the crime that night. You pushed him in front of that car."

"No one pushed him. I chased him and ran out into the street like a fool. There was no murder."

"Maybe your right."

"Gabriel, arrest him for insurance fraud, arson and manslaughter."


	11. The Plot Thickens

Major Crimes

Conference Room

Brenda, Gabriel, Captain Branson, Chief Taylor, Officer Walters, his Union Rep, and his superior officer all sat around a table.

Brenda started with pleasantries. Gabriel explained their case. Schmidt bought jewelry at auction, overinsured it, threw out the jewels, burned down the warehouse, cashed the check and thought he was on easy street. When he saw the victim with the necklace, he tried to get it back, and he chased him into the street where Walters unfortunately hit him.

"Why throw out expensive jewelry? He could have just let it burn." This guy had to be single, Taylor thought. No man throws out jewelry. He shuddered at the thought on how much he spent on jewelry for the missus.

"It might not have been destroyed," Brenda added. The insurance covered the jewels. The building wasn't worth very much. If the jewelry survived, his payout was low. He figured by throwing it in the dumpster, it would end up in a landfill and would be as good as gone."

"He didn't realize that Diver Sam waited for people to throw stuff out, so he could look for treasure."

"And you can prove this?" Branson didn't think such a convoluted theory would hold up.

"Well, he already confessed, and we found the rest of the jewelry with the other homeless people. A witness claims Sam came back with it after dumpster diving. Given the over insuring of the jewelry and the fire was shortly after the policy matured, it's not too hard of a case." It reminded Brenda of the case when those women ran over drunks and cashed the check. It also reminded her of how that morning started. She and Fritzi were enjoying themselves, and the poor fool threw out his back." Brenda chuckled a little.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Chief Taylor. Nothing at all."

"So can I go to work now?" Walters hated being at home. His wife nagged him all day about plumbing and stuff. _Hire a plumber woman. _

"None of this proves that Walters wasn't speeding." Branson was never happy with anything

Everyone groaned.

"Nothing proves that he was." Taylor was ready to end this. "We have a victim who got chased into the street by a felon and no one expected him to end up in the street right in the middle of traffic. It's a tragedy, but we have someone to put in jail. The family can sue him."

"Well, alright, but in the future I appreciate more …."

"Woot!" Walters screamed, hugged Brenda and ran out. "I'm back, Bitches!" he yelled as he ran down to Traffic.

"He reminds me of Bobby."

"He's a good man," Walter's boss concurred.

"You know him?" Bobby meets everyone. He's a social-ho.

"Well that was a successful joint investigation." Brenda was getting ready to make her exit.

"FID was completely left out of the picture." Branson was not amused.

Brenda smiled and left. "Good Day Chief, Captains."

FBI Office

Fritz had actually made a lot of progress with the jewelry. He got the lists from the manufacturers, so he was able to figure out which stores were selling the jewelry without permission. He then cross-checked that list with the number of fake pieces sold per store. Each time he found more than 3 fake pieces coming from a store in the past 6 months, he flagged it.

The list was pretty long. He knew that Major Crimes was busy with the Prescott case, but he could use a hand. _Speaking of friendly hands_ Brenda called.

"Hey Boo."

"Hey Fritzi, How's work?"

"Busy, I got a lot of fake jewelry cases. How's your case going?"

"It's closed. He confessed. He's in lockup. I'm done for the day."

"Well, aren't you lucky?"

"Well, we could grab a bite for lunch, and maybe you'll be lucky too." Brenda loved to tease him.

"I would love that, but I'll get behind."

"I could help you after work. Two hands are better than one." She laughed as she said that.

"Promise you won't distract me all day."

"Not all day."

"All right. How about 12:30?"

"It's a date."

Brenda/Fritz's Place

Bobby came home to walk Hunter. She and Joel had been pushing a ball back and forth. When her master grabbed a leash, she ran to the door. Hunter loved outside. They got in the truck and drove to the park.

They went on a long run. Hunter tried to catch butterflies, and Bobby smiled at a lot of pretty ladies. Women love men with dogs. When they got back to the car, Bobby noticed he had missed a text. "Bobby- your sis is the best. Guess who's back at work." _I wish I was at work._ Bobby thought. "Great to here dude. I told you so." Hunter was thrilled that Bobby didn't have a job. She got to run during the day. Awesome.

Major Crimes

Craig Jr. had been mirandized and waited in an interview room alone. Raydor wanted him to stew for a little bit.

"I feel bad for the guy," Andrea said.

Flynn instinctively moved towards her.

"He has a serious temper problem." Sykes piped in.

"If only he had a normal childhood," Andrea hated cases like this. What she wouldn't do for time travel.

Raydor went down with Sanchez to the interview room. She chose him over Flynn in case Craig had an outburst. "Ooh Mexican Chocolate," Provenza teased him.

Raydor rolled her eyes and went to the room. Sanchez followed her.

"Do you mind if I watch?" Brenda wondered how they all operated now.

"Don't tell the Captain?" Provenza pushed a chair her way.

Sykes looked ready to object, but Flynn gave her a stank look and she stayed quiet.

"This is Craig Jr. He was a victim of our victim when he was a child."

"Are you hungry?" Sharon began. "Would you like a snack?"

"I would like to know why the hell I was dragged in here." Jr was not amused.

"I had a few more questions for you." Sharon smiled sweetly. It would not take much to get this guy to yell. Hopefully, he would yell out a confession. "Did you know your sister's attorney?"

"Which one? The first bastard or the second one." Craig folded his arms and leaned back.

"The second one."

"No."

"Did you ever write to him?"

"Why would I write to a complete stranger?"

"Maybe to send him this?" Sharon showed him the note with newspaper letters.

"I didn't send that."

"It came from Washington."

"Wasn't me." Jr. looked nervous. His forehead started to sweat a little.

"Did you speak to Holly after the hearing?"

"No."

"Have you ever been to her apartment?"

"Why the hell would I go there?"

"Would you be willing to give your fingerprints so they could be compared?"

"You won't find anything, I've never been there."

"Then, you won't mind."

"You know the one thing about sending letters. People almost always lick the envelope. Do you think your DNA will match?"

"No and you're not getting it."

"But we could get your parents. If it's a familial match, we'll know it was you."

"So what if I did send the letter. There's no crime in telling the truth."

"You threatened him."

"No I didn't. It said he would pay with his blood. It didn't say I would spill it."

"So you admit it now."

"I admit nothing."

"Really?"

"So I sent a stupid letter. I didn't hurt nobody."

CONT'D

Fritz's Office.

12:30

Fritz was engrossed in making his chart. He needed to get enough evidence to get a warrant to search these stores. He was going to need to interview the customers and before he did, he wanted an idea of what was going on.

He didn't even notice Brenda walking into his office. Well, he noticed once his file was knocked out of his hand, and she was in his lap. She gave him a soft kiss, with plenty of tongue. "Hello, Sexy."

"Baby, you're here."

"It's time for your break."

Brenda and Fritz went to the mac and cheese bistro. Fritz got the NY special with cheddar and prosciutto. Brenda got the redneck special, with pulled pork, ancho chili and shredded cabbage.

"You're my favorite redneck." Fritz laughed.

"Oh you hush." Brenda smiled. She liked seeing Fritz more. "So have you heard from Liz lately."

"She said something about falling in love in Bali."

"Ooh, Will we meet him?"

"Oh I meant she fell in love with Bali, not with a man." Liz was too scatterbrained to find a man. That would involve her not being distracted by the elements.

"How long does she plan on staying?"

"Liz. Plan?" What an odd statement. Fritz's hand found Brenda's. She fluttered from his touch. Her foot slowly brushed against his leg and made its way up towards his thigh. She smiled at him. Fritz looked at his watch. He had some time before he needed to be back. "Check Please."

After they left the restaurant, Fritz started to drive them towards his office. He took the long way, turning off on a road that went nowhere. When he stopped, Brenda took off her seatbelt and made his way onto his lap. He remembered the first time they fooled around in his car. Some bitch murdered a judge. It was a shame. Brenda was wearing this tight leopard print sweater, and he was very excited for her.

Brenda's mouth found his and her hands ran through his hair. Fritz's hands made their way to her hips. They spent a few minutes exploring each other's mouths. Their tongues danced back and forth and they breathed as one. Brenda rocked her hips forward and Fritz put his seat back. Brenda moved slowly but swiftly up and down, her hips grinding into his, her body leading his. Little Fritz started to make an appearance and pushed against her wet folds.

It didn't take for Fritz to reach Brenda's neck. He started kissing her neck and then moved on to her chest. Brenda undid his belt and opened his fly. Fritz's hands cupped her ass and he pushed her towards him. Brenda bit his neck and he hiked up her skirt. He pulled her panties down. Brenda put the seat on a backwards tilt and slid her panties down past her ankles and off her body.

Fritz sat up so he could push down his pants. Brenda freed his throbbing penis from his boxers. Her hands were a little cold, and her touch caused him to flinch. She smiled and slowly slid him into her body. He groaned as she mounted him. She smiled and began to thrust slowly.

The windows were fogging up as she began to ride him. Fritz's arms surrounded her hips, and he began to guide her movements. He really wanted to flip her, but he didn't have enough space in the front seat.

Brenda started to nibble on his ear lobe and pushed her hips.

"RAAW" Fritz growled. He wanted to drill her, but Brenda was intent on taking him slowly. Her lips and fingers kept teasing him as she slowly picked up her pace just to slow down again. Fritz turned bright red. He was hot and bothered and really wanted to cum. He was getting a taste of his own medicine and it was bittersweet.

"Relax," Brenda hissed into his ear. "Just enjoy it."

Fritz grumbled as Brenda enjoyed her afternoon ride. It looked odd, Brenda riding him with her clothes on. He pushed up her shirt and pulled off her bra. His lips found her nipples and he slowly began to suck on them. She leaned back to enjoy his work and accidentally hit the horn. "HHOOONK"

They laughed as she moved forward again. "Maybe we should get in the back." Fritz slid over the center console into the back seat. Brenda followed him and she took off her shirt and skirt. She resumed her position on top and Fritz's hands found her breasts. He began to fondle her breasts as she rode him. Brenda unbuttoned his shirt, and she began to pinch his nipples and scratch his chest. She leaned forward and kissed him deeply. Fritz hands moved from her breasts to her hips and held on to them as he began to thrust into her. Brenda started to buck like a bronco and moan and scream as Fritz drove his hips into her. After a couple of minutes, she was just on the edge. "Oh Give it to me, Give it to Me."

Fritz took that as an order and he flipped her. Her ankles were on his shoulders, his hands on her hips and he began to pound her. Soon, she came all over and he followed. He gave her a kiss. Her mouth was sweet and salty.

They embraced and held each other in the backseat. After they got a little rest, Fritz looked at the time. "Shit! I need to get back to work. Fritz tried to hop in the front seat.

"Don't you think you should put on clothes first?" Brenda giggled.

"I am so behind." Fritz started to scramble for his clothes.

"I'll help you." Brenda was in no rush. She liked basking in her after glow. Eventually, they got their clothes on and drove to the office. Brenda grabbed a comb from her purse and started to fix her hair. She looked at Fritz's hair. It was a mess, and so was he. He had lipstick all over his collar.

"What's so funny, Brenda?"

"Nothing."

They got back to the office. Fritz walked by without looking at anyone. Everyone started to gossip as soon as he was out of ear shot. "His suit's wrinkled, and he had lipstick on his collar." The guys laughed. The girls were jealous.

"Back to work." Fritz started going through his charts. Brenda started looking through the jewelry. "Where did you get this?" Brenda held up a perfect copy of the necklace that got Diver Sam killed.

"That one came from a pawn shop. A guy bought it and when he found out it was late, reported the shop for fraud."

"What did the shop have to say about it? " Brenda was curious.

"I haven't spoken to them yet. Why that necklace?"

"The original of this necklace got Diver Sam killed. Holly Prescott used to own it?"

"You don't say. Let's pay this guy a visit."

Brenda and Fritz made it to the shop. It was run by a guy named Al.

"Are you Al?" Brenda asked with her polite voice.

"Yep. This is Al's Shop. I am Al. What you get is what you see."

"What can you tell me about this necklace?" She showed him the necklace.

"That stupid thing. How did it get back here?"

"When was it last here?" Fritz was confused. This was rather odd.

"Last year, this guy tried to sell it to me. He didn't have a receipt, so I held it for a couple of hours to get it appraised. My jeweler told me it was fake, so I told the guy I'd only pay $50. He was pissed. He seemed to think it was worth 10k."

"Why did you sell it for $1000 then?" Fritz showed him the receipt.

"I didn't. That's not my receipt. Look at mine." He produced a stack of receipts. His were printed on a little printer. The receipt Fritz had was handwritten on yellow pad paper, sloppily.

"Maybe the man who brought in the necklace forged the receipt, so he could resell it." Brenda suggested

"Do you remember who the man was?" Fritz asked Al.

"No, but I sent him to talk to my jeweler. Maybe he knows."

Al dug around in his drawer and found a business card. Fritz took it. "Thanks."

They left the store.

Major Crimes

The Morgue

Morales had made new findings. The killer pushed the Prescott into the wall at a downwards angle when he strangled her. Based on way the bones broke, the killer must have been significantly taller than Prescott, probably was 6'1-6'3. He wrote down his findings and would bring them to Raydor when he was done.

Interrogation room

Jr. was eating a sandwich. He had a weird droop to his arm, like he hurt it some how. She wondered if he could have damaged it in some type of fight, a fatal one perhaps. Maybe he didn't go to the doctor, and it didn't heal properly. She was going to send the video to Morales and see what he thought.

Surveillance Room

Andrea's head made it's way to Flynn's shoulder. They made small talk, both of them zoning out on the case.

"Would you two get a room?," Sykes said.

They both blushed.

"Way to be the hall monitor." Provenza thought this chick needed to get a grip.

Tao. Jr.'s mannerisms are most interesting. He seems to have a lot of anger, but he seems very passive aggressive, yelling at hearings, cryptic note, kind of admits it, kind of doesn't. I am not seeing the rage. I wonder what would have made him actually snap.

The Jeweler's

Fritz and Brenda made it to the jeweler. They showed him the necklace and asked him if he remembered the man who owned it.

"That bastard. He was yelling, hollering, he put a dent in my wall."

"Maybe he thought you cheated him."

"I cheat no one. That necklace was/is fake. I'll show you."

.He pulled out his diamond tester and showed Brenda and Fritz. "See, Fake."

"Do you know any other tests?" Brenda was curious.

"Sure." He did the breath test, the glass test, all showed it was fake. "I offered to do the test for him too, but he got mad, snatched it and stormed out."

"Do you remember who he was?"

"I keep a book." He looked it up. "I can't read this, but maybe you can." He showed them the book. Believe it or not, it was Stroh's signature.

Brenda and Fritz looked at each other. "What the hell did that mean?"

They thanked the man. Brenda asked for a copy of his log book for that day and then they left.

"How do you trace a fake necklace?" Brenda asked Fritz.

"We are not interviewing Stroh. You testified against him in a murder trial, and if I am in the same room as him, I might kill him."

"Not that. Someone made this necklace look like it was real. It wasn't a mass production because this necklace was not widely distributed. There'd be no point. Someone custom-made this piece. There has to be a reason why."

Fritz sighed. He did not want to have to deal with this guy again. "I'll call headquarters and see if anyone can give us some help in figuring out who made this thing, but not a word about you know who to anyone."


	12. A Second Bite of the Apple

Major Crimes

Rusty's High School

Rusty couldn't wait to get out of class. Chess got cancelled, so he had some time to kill before Sharon came to take him home. As he walked out the doors of the school, he saw a group of kids with signs across the street. "God Loves Everyone." "No Glove No Love" They wore all kinds of colors and had buckets. When he got closer, he saw that they were giving out condoms to students as they walked by.

Some kids stopped for condoms and left. Others took flyers as well. The parents were not amused.

Rusty saw their ringleader. He was pretty damn hot, about 5'9, dark black hair, big brown eyes, black rectangular glasses, an athletic build, pale skin and a very toothy grin.

Kyle knew when he was being checked out. He liked what he saw. "Hey there." He handed Rusty a bag . Their eyes met.

"Hey yourself. It's a pretty brave move, right across the street from Stalag 13."

Kyle laughed. "We're on a public sidewalk. I know my Constitutional rights."

"I'm sure you know a lot of things. I'm Rusty."

"Kyle. This is Becky, Tamika, Sue, our faculty advisor, and Akio."

Rusty had forgotten Kyle's friends. They all looked different from each other, kind of like the United Nations.. It's not so often that you see a short little white girl, with a big black girl, a goth chick, a teacher, an tall asian man and a beautiful gay white guy all in a group.

"What brings you all here?"

"A lot of teens don't have the proper education and resources to make competent choices about their sex lives. To make matters worse, there are institutions determined to keep them in the dark with dogma and abstinence only education. We bring information to teens, so if and when they choose to have sex, they know what they're getting into." Becky gave their normal spiel.

"Did you have that memorized?" Rusty laughed

"Pretty much."

Tamika handed the a girl passing by a pink bag.

"How come I got blue?" Rusty asked. He always thought gender roles were dumb.

"The pink ones have the morning after pill. If you think you might get pregnant..."

"You don't know me."

Everyone laughed at that.

Rusty looked though his bag, condoms, lube, a pamphlet, an equality cookie in plastic wrap and gum. "How long have you all been doing this?

"This is our first time here," Sue answered. "We started at our school, Riverside High, two years ago and last year started giving presentations at the local middle schools. Then, we decided to hit the streets. Then we could reach even more people."

"We're also co-sponsoring the home coming dance next month," Tameka added. "I'm also on the step team, and we will be performing at half-time."

"What's a step team?" Rusty had no idea what that meant.

"What!"

Before Rusty knew what was happening, step was happening. Tameka was clapping, stopping, and dancing about. Rusty had no idea how she could do that on command, but she was pretty excellent.

"I'm on the step team too," Kyle join. He started stomping his feet and wiggling about, clearly he was not on any step team and never would be.

"Hater's gonna hate," Tamika said as she flipped her hair.

The headmaster was not amused. He had received complaints from the parents and came outside.

"What are you all doing out here?"

"Exercising our First Amendment Right!" The group said in unison.

"This is a private high school. You will need to leave."

"Well, it is not," Sue answered. Across the street is a private high school, but we are on a public sidewalk. We don't have to go anywhere."

"We can see what the police have to say about it."

"They will say what I just said. This is a public sidewalk," Sue was not afraid of a stuffy old man who probably hasn't gotten any in this era.

The headmaster walked away. He needed to contact legal and see if they could do anything about this.

After he left, Sue said, "We were heading out anyway, but I didn't want to give him any satisfaction. There's a charter school that gets out in 10 minutes." The grouped grabbed their stuff and hopped in Sue's SUV. They drove down to the school. Rusty sat next to Kyle. "So what do you do when you're not exercising your First Amendment rights."

"I'm captain of the wrestling team, and I volunteer with Street Law. I also like long walks on the beach," Kyle said with a smirk.

"Aren't you a romantic?" Rusty snickered. _What a tool,_ he thought. What a perfectly crafted tool.

"What do you do all day other than listen to dogma disguised as education?"

"I play chess."

"A real man of action."

"All about strategy."

"Strategy. What are you planning?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Rusty smiled. He was hoping to see more of this guy.

"We're here," She yelled. They climbed out the car, and began giving out their goodie bags and waiving their signs.

The kids at this school flocked towards them, taking a bag and making off like bandits. It was only 15-20 minutes before they were all out of supplies.

"I should have bought more condoms," Sue muttered.

"That's what she said," Kyle snickered. "They all laughed.

"Time for Pizza." Akio said.

"I should have asked before," Sue lamented. "Rusty, would your mother be alright with you coming with us?"

"I haven't seen my mom in three years, so I doubt she'd care." Everyone's face fell when he said that. "I live with my Aunt Sharon, I'll ask her." Rusty didn't need to tell all of these people his life story, not a great way to make friends. "Hey Sharon," Rusty said into the phone. "I just joined a new student group. …. Chess was cancelled today. Can I go with the group and get pizza?" Rusty handed Sue the phone. Sue and Sharon spoke and she handed the phone back to Rusty. Rusty spoke to Sharon on the phone. She agreed to pick him up from the pizzeria, and she hung up."

"You joined our student group. You don't go to our school." Kyle laughed.

"So." That was the end of it. They all went for pizza.

The Squad room.

Tao was reading through the files that had been faxed to him. He was surprised to find out that Phillip Stroh was Prescott's attorney for her most recent case. They wouldn't be able to interview him about her case for obvious reasons. Tao learned that she signed a retainer agreement- agreeing to pay 5k upfront. He didn't however, see an actual check or a copy in the file. He also saw a copy of the police report that the Gordons had filed.

Tao looked at Stroh's notes. She admitted to grabbing the boy when he went looking for the little boy's room at TGI Fridays. Tao stopped reading. He didn't want to see the rest." The file didn't have much else in it. Stroh hadn't contacted any experts or interviewed anybody.

He didn't do very much, Tao thought. Tao was kind of surprised that he didn't keep working on the case, at least until the retainer ran out.

He went to find the Captain.

"Captain Raydor, You're going to want to see this."

"What is is lieutenant?"

"It's Prescott's file from her attorney's office. Guess who her counsel was."

Sharon dreaded the thought of Peter Goldman.

"Philip Stroh."

"What?"

"He was her attorney before she went missing, before he went to jail, Captain." Tao handed her the file. "She was supposed to pay him 5k, but I see no indication she actually paid it."

This made her case against Jr not look so good. Her lawyer was a man who had a penchant for strangling petite blonde women and leaving them in ditches. "Why would he kill his own client?"

"I have no idea, Captain. He targeted strangers before."

"Update the board please." Captain Raydor went back to her interview.

"Jr. Have you seen this man before?" She showed him a picture of Stroh.

"No. Who is he?"

"He was your sister's attorney."

"She had that other guy."

"That was a civil attorney. This one was her criminal attorney."

"Mom mentioned something about a lawyer calling for money. I think she hung up."

Money is a motive, Sharon thought. How to prove it. She let Craig go and called his mother.

"Ms. Wyatt. I have a quick question for you. Did you get a call from your daughter's attorney last May? He asked you for how much? You told him she was on her own and you hung up. Thank you so much."

Captain dreaded this but she went to see Chief Taylor.

"You think Stroh killed Prescott!" Taylor was ready to have a heart attack. "He's currently appealing his convictions claiming Chief Johnson's conduct entrapped him into trying to kill her and Rusty."

Sharon gave him a stank look.

"Stupid argument, I know, but this litigation is already costly. You want to add a new murder charge."

"This case has nothing to do with Chief Johnson. A new charge might leverage Stroh into taking a deal."

Taylor liked the sound of that. "Why him?"

"He was her lawyer. She was supposed to pay him. She never did. He tried to collect from her mother. Her mother wouldn't pay. She's petite and blonde and was found strangled in a shallow ditch, and we all know Stroh's MO."

"She wasn't buried where the other girls were, why?"

"He knew her. All of his other victims were planned. He picked strangers and avoided the cameras. He couldn't avoid his relationship with Prescott. If she had been found with the others, he would have been clearly implicated in all of them. He wanted everyone to think Prescott was gone, so he buries her and drives the car to Mexico."

"Can we prove that?"

"We have his fingerprints. We can compare them to the car. He must have come back from Mexico somehow. We can check the airlines, rental car companies, etc, until we figure out how. Also, when Morales finishes his findings, we can compare his results in this case to that of the other victims. We also had a witness who heard an argument over the weekend where she was killed. He said he could identify the voice if he heard it."

"Tread carefully. Do whatever you think Brenda would not."

"Understood, Chief."

Sharon brought her squad together and brought them up to speed on the new development. She sent them all to work. Tao to get Stroh's fingerprints to SID to compare to the car, Sanchez to look for proof that Stroh was in Mexico, Flynn and Provenza to try and get a voice match from the neighbor, and Sykes to get Morales' final report."

Sykes came back. "According to the doctor, the killer was in between 6'1 and 6'3 and he slammed Prescott into the wall. He likely would have injured his hand given the amount of force he used. We could x-ray Stroh's hands and see if he has old injuries that would be consistent with pinning her into the wall and strangling her."

"Not yet. We don't want him to see this case coming."

"I asked Morales to pull up the other Stroh cases and compare Prescott to them. He said he'll call when he's done."

FBI Office

Fritz wasn't surprised that his coworkers knew where to get great, custom-made fake jewelry. He got a name and went down to see him.

"I'm looking for Bucky."

"Why would he want to see you?"

"I got some cash, and I want get something for my bitch. I don't want to waste my money at Littmans. I heard this was the place to be."

"Good enough."

Fritz came in. It was a dark room, poorly lit a counter in the front with a sketch pad and a heavy metal door in the back.

"Now what do you want."

"I was wondering if you could make something like this." Fritz showed him the necklace that was the center of so much controversy.

"Where did you get that?"

"Did you make this?"

"So what if I did."

"Who did you make it for?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Fritz flashed a badge. "You have a choice. You could cooperate, and I will leave here and never come back, or I could seize all of your merchandise as counterfeit. The choice is yours."

Bucky sighed. This was not going to be a sale after all. He got his black notebook and started flipping through it. I made that last April to sell to a dame. She was pretty and paid me $250. It says here a Holly Prescott.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. You can ask her yourself."

"Well I can't. She's dead."

"Too bad."

Fritz left. So Holly sold her real necklace and later had a fake made and sold it as real. Maybe she gave it to Stroh as a payment. Fritz called Captain Raydor.

"Hey Sharon. I found a fake diamond necklace."

"I am not the fashion police."

"Cute. This necklace is important. It belonged to Holly Prescott."

"Someone gave her a counterfeit necklace?"

"No. She paid for it to be made and then gave it to Stroh. He thought it was real and tried to sell it and flipped out when he found out it was fake."

"How do you know this?"

"I got a box of counterfeit jewelry and was told to investigate. Brenda saw this one and recognized it as the one from her case. We went to the pawn shop who lead us to the jeweler who lead us to Stroh and when I found the maker of the fake necklace, he said Prescott commissioned it."

"He was her lawyer," Sharon said.

"I figured that."

"Do me a favor. Don't tell Brenda yet."

"She already knows that Stroh got the necklace. She doesn't know that Prescott commissioned it. Might I ask why it matters, not that I want to involve her in this anyway."

"He's appealing his convictions. If we could get a new case where she was not an investigator, we might be able to get him to take a deal and be done with it."

"This deal better not let him walk out of there. If he does, he will walk 6 feet under."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do he have a deal?"

"Fine."

Brenda's office

She was bored. Paperwork sucked. She had to file everything for ADA Baldwin, and she was not in the mood. Knock Knock.

"Come in."

Andrea walked through the door.

"Hey Andrea, how's it going?"

"I was hoping I could ask you for advice."

"Sure. Sit down." Anything sounded better than work.

"It's about a guy."

"Oohh. Do tell."

"Well, I like him, and I think he likes me, but we work together."

"Ohh an office romance."

"You have more experience with these things than I do."

"Tell me he's not married." Brenda did not recommend that at all.

"No, Silly. I didn't mean that kind of experience. You have worked with Fritz."

Brenda did not think she was the best to ask about this. Their working together has not been the greatest for their personal relationship.

"I don't know how to deal with a working relationship and a personal one."

"It helps if your personal lives are about something else. Don't bring work to your fun, and don't take professional disagreements personally." Brenda preached much better than she practiced, but her practice was improving. "Don't be afraid to take a couple of days off and enjoy the now. Also, so when will you reveal this mystery guy."

"Not yet. We haven't actually gone out yet or anything. I just feel silly, like a giddy teenager."

Brenda laughed. "Spend more time with him. He'll figure it out."


	13. Skybox Part 2

Alfonso's Pizzeria

Rusty loved meatlovers. He took a bite of a slice and a long, gooey string of cheese went from his mouth to the rest of the slice.

Kyle watched Rusty's mouth intently.

Tameka is hyper observant. She could see the way the two were looking at each other. She saw the winks, eyebrow raises, the way the corner of their lips turned up, the sweat slowly dripping from their foreheads.

Akoi reached for the soda. His arm inadvertently brushed across Tameka's. He fluttered from the contact.

Becky hated being the fifth wheel. Everyone was paring off. Sue had a wife at home. She wanted to find a boyfriend.

Out of no where, Kevin Tao appeared. "Kevin, what brings you here."

"I wanted to come out earlier, but I had to tutor my cousin in math. He's not doing so well." Kevin sat down and grabbed a slice.

"How old is he?"

"10. He just doesn't like school. He wants to play sports all day like most boys do. I made him some worksheets involving soccer. Maybe, he'll actually do them."

Kevin and Becky chatted away as Rusty and Kyle made snarky remarks at each other. Tameka talked at Akio about everything, and Akio smiled and listened.

Sue looked at the time. "I better get you all home. Kevin, how are you getting home?"

"I drove her Sue." His father finally let him get a car. "I can give Becky a ride. She's on the way."

_The way to easy street_ Tameka thought.

_Sharon should have arrived by now, Rusty thought. _He was about to call her when she walked through the door. "Rusty, Are these your new friends."

"Yeah," he muttered. He quickly introduced them all and got out of there. He did not want Sharon to ask too many questions.

"Bye Rusty," Kyle said as he left. "Bye Aunt Sharon."

Sharon turned as if to say something, but Rusty ushered her out the door.

"Aunt Sharon?"

"I didn't know what else to call you."

"Aww! You think of me as family."

"Don't push it."

Sharon smiled and they went home.

Andrea was just getting ready to drive home for the day, when she saw and old car smoking in the parking lot. To her surprise, it was Lieutenant Flynn.

"Andy. You need some help."

"This car's an old piece of junk," Andy sighed. "He tried to fix it, but it looked like it was ready to blow."

"I could call triple AAA for you."

"Thanks, but I already called them. They said maybe they'd be here in 2 hours."

"That's a long wait."

"Tell me about it. Don't let me keep you here." Andy didn't know why he said that. He wanted her to stay.

"I don't mine. We could get something to eat and come back later."

"Or come back never," Andy muttered. "What did you have in mind?"

Andy's a vegetarian. Too bad. She could really go for a big hunk of meat right now. "There's a new restaurant about 20 minutes from here. They specialize in sustainable harvesting."

"A hippie joint."

"I think they're going for more _nouveau riche _than stoner."

"A boughie place. Eh! Why not."

They got in Andrea's car and she drove. Her car was nice, clean and rode smoothly. She listened to jazz on the radio. It was nice, pleasant.

"Have you had this car a long time?" Andy asked. _Why did I ask something so stupid. How's your car? Yeah. That's a way to catch the ladies._

"A couple of years now. I have a feeling you've had your car a much longer time. She giggled. That car was ancient."

"You have no idea. About seven years ago, Provenza and I were supposed to go to Dodgers game. We had skybox tickets and it broke down a mile from the stadium. We could hear the game start, and we were stuck on the side of the road."

"That's too bad." Seven years ago, and he still drove the same piece of junk. She hoped he wasn't a total cheapass.

"That's nothing." Flynn paused, unsure if he should tell the whole story. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Ooh what kind?" She wasn't expecting this.

"Why we took my car to the game? I don't want to get any people in trouble now."

"My lips are sealed."

Flynn told Andrea about the dead woman in Provenza's garage, how when they came back the body was gone and she had been dumped on Sepulveda. How Chief Johnson and the team secretly solved the case behind Taylor's and Pope's back and how she got them to buy everyone all those presents, and how Gabriel had been left in the dark the whole time."

"She didn't tell Gabriel?" Andrea was surprised by that, not so much by Brenda's behavior.

"She wanted to keep someone clean in case everything hit the fan."

"You called in a fake bomb threat."

"Who said it was fake? There could have been a bomb. Somewhere."

Andrea laughed. She always knew there was a lot going on with Major Crimes that no one got to see. She was glad that Flynn was letting her in.

They got to the restaurant, and Andrea parked her car. They got to the door, and Flynn opened it for her. They were quickly seated by the hostess and a waiter came to take their drink orders.

"I'll stick with water," Andrea said.

"I'll get a cranberry juice," Flynn said. For some reason, recovering alcoholics always drank cranberry juice.

They chatted about their day. Flynn couldn't believe Stroh was back in the picture. "Does the Chief know about this?"

"I don't think so," Andrea answered. "I think they want to leave her out of this one. She's already been through enough because of him." They both shuddered at the thought of Stroh breaking into Brenda's apartment last year.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter returned.

"I would like the butternut squash risotto and the warm papaya side salad," Andrea answered.

Flynn was going to get the same thing. Instead, "I'll get the stuffed portabello mushrooms," and can I get a side of sweet potato fries."

The waiter was off. Andrea took a slow sip of her water. Her throat kept drying out.

"Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"Brenda and I are going on a Spa Day, well unless this case gets in the way."

"You and Chief hang out?"

"You look surprised."

"I can't see Brenda doing things for fun, not the Chief I know."

"She has fun. She would go out with the squad."

"After work drinks. It's apart of the culture. I didn't know she did things for fun, fun."

"Well, she's trying to bring Sharon along as well."

"The Captain!" Flynn almost fell out of his seat. He remembered when they first met, and Gabriel shot that teenage punk. "This I need to see. Can I come too?"

"Sorry, It's a girls only day." Andrea laughed. Flynn at a spa. That would be something.

"Sexist." Flynn smiled. "I'll probably be car shopping this weekend."

"When's the last time you did that, 19999?"

"Very funny."

They talked about their families. Andrea had two sisters. They were both stay at home mothers married to fairly affluent men. "I stick out like a sore thumb at family reunions. My mother gave up, but my father keeps holding out hope that I'll magically appear with a husband and grandkids."

"You didn't know. You can rent families on Craigslist. Just show up with one. Make your daddy proud." Flynn liked jesting with her. He wasn't any example of a perfect family man.

"Why didn't I think of that?" They both laughed, and their dinners appeared.

Flynn took a big bite. "Too HOT!" he yelped as he chugged some juice. Andrea snickered. She saw the steam coming from her food and gave it a minute to rest. Then, she took a bite. It was delicious, creamy, and a little cheesy.

Flynn felt like he had made an ass of himself. He took a small bite and tried again. It was pretty good, mushroom caps stuffed with bell peppers and onion topped with mozzarella cheese and a little garlic. "Would you like to try some?" he asked. Before he knew it, he carefully fed a piece of mushroom into Andrea's mouth. Afterwards, they both turned red and didn't talk for a couple of minutes.

Andrea bit into the salad, warm, sweet and a little spicy. It reminded her of Andy. "So I hear Provenza's looking for wife number 5." Andrea finally broke the silence.

"He'll never give up. Old fool. He's been dating this girl. I can't tell if she's a gold digger or a kit."

"A woman who likes older men. Kits are what they call baby foxes. They call the older men silver foxes."

"Do you like kits?"

Flynn blushed, "not my type. They're too immature, and often have a daddy complex. No thanks Dr. Freud."

Andrea sighed in relief. They looked into each other's eyes. His brown eyes locked on her blue ones. They shared a moment.

"Shall I get you anything for dessert." The waiter interrupted them. Flynn gave him a stank look.

"Would you like to split something?" Andrea asked Andrew, tuning out the waiter."

"How about the carrot cake with a side of salted caramel ice cream?"

"It sounds perfect."

The waiter left, and the two lovebirds went back into their own world.

"Thanks for coming out tonight," Andrea told him.

"Thanks for getting me out of that stupid parking lot." His hand covered hers. His touch caused her to flush. Her fingers stroked his palm. He wanted to kiss her but he didn't want to mess everything up.

The waiter came back with their dessert and they got to it. The combination of sweet and salty was perfect. They talked about jazz as they shared their treat. They kept talking after the dessert was gone. Eventually, it was clear they wore out their welcome. The waiter wanted them out.

"We should get going. I't's a work night, Andrea told him."

"Yes mam!"

Flynn took the check and paid it over Andrea's protest. "It's the least I could do," he said.

She smiled. _So's he not a cheap ass after all, just drives a crap car._

They got back into her car. Andy called AAA, and they towed the car to a mechanic's shop. He would get an estimate the next day.

"I can drive you home," she offered.

"Thanks." Andy told her the address, and she got to it. About 25 minutes later, they got to his house. Andrea hoped it would have taken longer, she didn't want their night to end.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Flynn said, getting ready to get out the car.

Andrea didn't want to see him leave. She grabbed his hand and held him in place. He didn't try to fight her. He turned towards her. She smelled like flowers, and he didn't really want to go inside. He leaned towards her, almost kissing her, but not knowing if he should take the plunge. Andrea closed her eyes and kissed him, her lips crashing into his, her hands finding his cheeks. Flynn kissed her back, and they stayed in the car for a few minutes.

"Do you want any coffee?" Flynn asked her.

"Sure."

They went inside. Flynn got the pot going. He actually had a sizable place, a nice kitchen, big living room, a lot of space for a bachelor.

"I got this case for when my kids visit." Flynn answered her silent question. "They're all grown up now it's just me."

Flynn put some Miles Davis on his speaker system. Andrea smiled at him. He found his way back to her, and they resumed kissing. Her lips were soft, but her movements were firm, borderline aggressive. Flynn loved blondes who took control. Her arms pulled Flynn into her and Flynn's hands found her hips. It didn't take long for him to put her on the counter. They were aligned perfectly, her legs wrapping themselves around his hips. Their lips exploring each other's mouths searching for more. Andy broke the kiss. "Crap! The coffee."

He rushed to take the coffee off before he burned it. "I hate the smell of burned coffee." He quickly poured it into the cups and put the coffee pot back on the counter." He went back to Andrea and resumed his position, kissing her gently. His lips moved to her neck, and Andrea began to breath heavily. "Do you still want that coffee?" he murmured.

"Not really."

"Good." He kissed her collarbone and took off her jacket. She took off his tie and began to unbutton his shirt. He picked her up and carried her to the couch. Their kissing intensified. Their hands began to explore each other's bodies, and Flynn started trying to get under her skirt. The skirt was tight, so he was struggling a bit. Andrea helped him out and undid the zipper. He pushed the skirt off her and she took off his belt and undid his fly. Little Andy began to grow against her and they kept kissing. Her shirt came off. She straddled him, just wearing her underwear. She was really wet and was sweating. Her skin was hot to the touch and she wanted him, right there right now.

"Take me now," she hissed into his ear.

The sound of her voice caused his cock to twitch. Flynn stood up with Andrea in his arms. His pants fell to the floor and he stepped out of them. He carried her, upstairs to his bedroom and lay her on the bed. The rest of their clothes came off and he began kissing her skin. "Do you want me?" he asked her, knowing exactly what she wanted.

"Yes," she said softly, her voice was cracking. He kissed his way down to her thighs and gently bit them.

Andrea flashed about and Flynn held her down. His fingers gently teased her flesh, moving towards her pussy then moving back away. He looked at her, her eyes big and blue, her cheeks bright red, sweat dripping down her face. He gently brushed against her, his finger tips barely touching her folds. Her pupils got big. He continued to tease her, and she firmly placed her hands on his shoulders. When he felt that she had had enough, he slowly kissed his way back down to her thighs and pushed her legs over his shoulders.

He dug in eagerly, licking and sucking on her clit. She gasped loudly as he got to work. He knew exactly what he was doing, and she was in for a real treat. His tongue and fingers took turns exploring her as she writhed beneath him. "Take me. Take me now." She screamed as he thrust his fingers into her. Her body tightened around him. Her hips began to buck as his tongue resumed its work. Her hands pushed his head into her, and he burrowed into her. "FUCK! FUCK! FUCK" she yelled as she started cumming all over him. She loosened her grip on his head as she collapsed onto his bead.

Flynn's face was a sticky mess. Before she knew it, he was kissing her, her juices on his tongue mixing with hers and Flynn grabbed a condom from his nightside drawer. He wrapped up and plunged into her.

"AWWWWW GOD!" She yelled as he was all the way in. He paused for a moment, getting used to her body. She felt fantastic. He slowly began to thrust in and out of her. Andrea's hips rose to meet his and they got to work. Flynn's mouth found her shoulder and he bit her. She yelped in pain, but he made her feel so good. She took his hands and put them on her shoulders, close to her neck. He gripped her hard and began to really fuck her, his hips pounding her as hard as he could.

The feeling of his hands on her body as he pounded her took Andrea over the edge. She started cumming again. She hadn't been with a man in almost a year, and she hadn't touched herself in weeks. She didn't know how much she had needed a release until Flynn came along. She whispered into his ear "Fuck me like you mean it."

He pushed her legs to her ankles, his legs on either side of her hips. He pounded her viciously. She screamed and shouted expletives, harder, faster, more. He came hard and collapsed on top of her.

They lay in silence, sweaty, sticky and out of breath. Flynn kissed her cheek and pulled her into his arms. They drifted off to sleep.

Bobby

Bobby got a side job while he waited to hear from Chuck. He had some landscaping experience, and he got to work fixing his neighbor's yards. He planted autumn flowers and did some stonework. He got paid in cash and left for the day.

When he got home, Hunter was waiting for a walk. "A shower first," he told her as he went into the bathroom. He came out about 10 minutes later and got dressed. Hunter was still waiting for him and they went outside.

Rusty's school

Rusty was distracted. He didn't care about who did what in the Civil War. He wanted to be with Kyle, not in his drab history class. Rusty stared at the clock.

"Mr. Beck," his teacher started.

Rusty looked at him, having no idea what he was talking about.

"What role did Stonewall Jackson play in the war?"

"He fought in it." The class laughed. _What a stupid question_ Rusty thought.

"That's it." The teacher hoped Rusty could do better than that.

Rusty thought he had gotten the answer correct, so he didn't respond.

"Rusty?" The teacher was waiting for more about Stonewall.

"What?" The class laughed again. This was too good.

"That's it?"

"I know that's it, why do you keep looking at me?"

"I want to know why Stonewall Jackson was a key figure for the Confederacy?"

"Shouldn't you already know that if you're the teacher?"

The class was in hysterics now. "See me after class."

Rusty's teacher moved on. He knew when he had lost.

FBI Office.

Fritz had honed in on a wring of people who were buying real jewelry, subbing it for fakes and then selling the real jewels on ebay. He found a listing for a bracelet that matched a fake that he had. Fritz put in a bid.

Nauseating P Jenkins came in. "Have you done anything else with the El Torro case?"

"Like what. He's facing a competency hearing. That's for the BOP and the DA to work on."

"Have you heard from them?"

"They think he's faking it to get out of trial. They'll have a hearing. The judge will sort it out." Fritz wanted this guy to go.

"I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"What?"

"Well it's personal."

_This guy has a personal life_, Fritz thought. "Yes."

"Well, there's this girl I used to date."

"An Ex."

"Well I guess, you see she called me and told me over the phone that it wasn't going to work out."

"When was this?"

"Last December."

"Almost a year ago?"

"Well yeah. I mean I don't know what went wrong. I took her to nice restaurants, paid for her meal, drove her home, I drive safely."

_Of course she dumped you, you boring ass motherfucker._ "That's nice and all, but it takes more than money and manners to win a lady."

"What do you mean?"

"What does she like? What did you talk about? Did you listen to her when she wanted to tell you stuff? Did you incorporate what she told you into your dates?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know Brenda loves chocolate, so when we were courting, I took her to a chocolatier in Santa Barbara. You know, stuff like that."

"I don't really know stuff like that about her. I mean I know where she works and stuff, but I wasn't much interested in her personal life."

"Then why do you want her back?"

"Who said I wanted her back? I have a date with a new lady, and I want to get it right this time."

_God this guy is a dumbfuck_ Fritz thought. "What do you know about this girl?"

"She's a brunette, 5'4, 110 lbs, drives a Honda."

"Her personality? What kind of food does she like? Does she like art, sports, what kind of music?"

"Whoa what's with all of the personal questions. She's mine."

Fritz rolled his eyes. There was no helping this idiot.

Major Crimes

The Morgue.

Morales compared his notes on Prescott to the other Stroh cases. This one was different. Stroh took his time terrorizing his other victims. With this woman, he snapped. He got his findings ready and wrote a report for the Captain.

Raydor found the secretary that used to work for Stroh. She remembered Prescott giving him the necklace as payment. She tried to sell it for Stroh, but the stores weren't interested. She suggested he find a pawn shop. Stroh hadn't told her the necklace was fake. As far as she new, the woman never came with any money and Stroh got behind on paying her work checks. She threatened to take him to the labor board.

Tao went through Stroh's bank accounts. He wasn't doing so well last May, but after the 21st, he had a bunch of money in his account. 10K came from somewhere.

Provenza went back to the country club. The men there were a hoot, and maybe one of them knew about Prescott's financial situation. One of the guys, Ray, admitted to giving her cash, 15k. She said she was in trouble. He assumed it had been gambling debts, and he gave her the cash, no questions. When she never came back, he assumed she used the money to run away.

At the squad room, they had the bill of sale for the car. She spent 5k on it. The rest of the money seemed to have disappeared.

"What if Stroh found out about the money and killed her?" Tao postured

"Why would she give him fake jewelry and then admit to having 10k in cash?" Sanchez didn't buy that story.

"What if he didn't kill her for the money?" Provenza began. "He killed her because she stiffed him and after she was dead, he found the money and took it?"

"Not a bad theory." Sharon said. "Where's Flynn?"

Provenza shrugged. He had no idea.

Flynn woke up to an empty bed. _Andrea must have left._ He wished that she had stayed. When he got to the bathroom to take a shower, he smelled food. He walked downstairs to see Andrea cooking breakfast, wearing one of his T-shirts from his dresser. She turned to him and smiled. She had pancakes, eggs and bacon ready to go. "I'll be back."

Flynn took a quick shower, threw on a bathrobe and came downstairs. They ate. Andrea was going to need to go home and get clothes before she came to work. They didn't talk about the night before. "Will you be free Saturday night?" Flynn asked.

"Yes." She smiled. She wanted to see him again too.

Flynn got dressed. They got to her apartment. She got dressed, and they went to work. She dropped him off at the station. "I'll be back." She drove to the Prosecutor's office and made some phone calls before she went back to the station.

Flynn called in an order of flowers to be sent to her house. Flynn wanted to get this one right. He strutted his way up to the murder room, in a great mood.

"There he is, Sleeping Beauty." Provenza was wondering where this guy was all morning.

"What?" he said. No one said anything to him.

Raydor caught him up to speed.

"There's no way to trace cash." Flynn stated, "But, the FBI tracks all deposits and withdrawals for more than 10k." Flynn called Agent Howard, who was glad to escape P. Jenkins. Fritz said he would find out what he could about the money."

"So you're finally earning your keep." Provenza snickered.

"Oh shut it." Flynn sat on Provenza's deask.

"Get your ass off my desk."

"Get a room." Sykes chipped in. They were like an old married couple.

Prosecutor's Office.

Brenda walked into Andrea's office. She wanted to make sure Andrea was still on for Saturday.

Andrea was basking in her afterglow. She was in such a good mood.

Brenda could tell she was happy. "So did you have a good night last night."

Andrea blushed. "Brenda, close the door."

"So you did. You got yours didn't you."

"Well, I guess I did."

"Oooh! Who is he?"

"Brenda!"

"What! You found someone. This is great. I want to know."

"I'm not telling," Andrea lied. "She couldn't wait to tell."

"You will tell me, or I'll call P. Jenkins and tell him how you want his body."

"I DO NOT," Andrea shouted. She couldn't believe Brenda bought him up. She went on a blind date with him, and it was horrible. He was so boring.

"So, who is he?"

"Lieutenant Flynn," she mumbled. Brenda couldn't hear her.

"Who?"

"I said Lieutenant Flynn," she hissed.

"You and Andy?" Brenda couldn't believe it.

Andrea sighed. "Yes. Me and Andy."

"How?"

Andrea recounted her evening, his piece of car breaking down, the restaurant, the PG13 version of their night as his house. She skipped the part where Flynn told her about the skybox tickets.

"Ooh! How was he?"

"Brenda!"

"What! I tell you about me and Fritzi!"

"And I wish you wouldn't. I work with him."

"So."

"He was fantastic. I will say no more."

"When will you see him again?"

"Saturday night."

"Ooooh!"

"You better not tell a soul."

"Your secret is safe with me." Brenda knew Andrea would tell her. She always got her confessions.

"I got to go," Andrea said.

"To your loverboy?"

"No to work."

"Work it girl." Brenda left with a smile.


	14. Blood Money

FBI Office

Fritz got a fax about the 10k that Stroh had deposited last May. The transaction looked normal except for there were handwritten in comments by the teller. They read: Man acted weird. His money had red stuff on it."

Fritz faxed the report to Major Crimes.

He then went back to his case. He won the bid for the bracelet, and he sent an message to the seller to ask if he could pay cash.

He then looked at his notes on El Torro. The federal prosecutor wanted to meet with him that afternoon about his testimony. He was to testify in El Torro's competency hearing. The DA was hopping to convince the judge that his behavior was rage and defeat, not mental illness.

Major Crimes Squad Room

Sykes grabbed the fax from the machine. "It's the FBI report from Stroh's deposit."

"Anything good." Provenza called.

"Whoever accepted the deposit wrote in the comment box that Stroh acted strangely and the money was red."

"Maybe it's blood," Provenza answered.

"The victim didn't bleed," said Tao.

"Not from the murder." Provenza retorted.

"It's all moot if the money's gone," said Flynn.

"Why don't we find out? Flynn, Provenza go to the bank and see if you can find out what happened to the cash."

They got in Provenza's car and hit the road.

Andy whistled happily.

"Since when are you so chipper," Provenza was suspicious.

"Can't a man have a good day."

"You don't have good days Andy. You're you."

"Well, I am having a good day today."

"What happened last night? Did you get slapped with a happy stick?"

Flynn laughed and turned on the radio. He changed it to jazz.

"Since when do you listen to jazz."

"I like jazz."

"You always want to play old rock and now jazz. Who are you and what did you do with Flynn?"

"I'm the same me I've always been." Flynn lied. He would never be the same.

"You dumbass" Provenza yelled at the bitch who cut him off.

Soon enough, they pulled into the bank's parking lot.

Flynn asked to see the manager. He came out and they showed him the form.

"Oh Connor must have filled this out. Connor," he yelled.

"A young red haired man came out. Yessir.!

"You wrote in the box about a deposit that was made last year."

Connor looked at the form. "Yeah that guy was weird. He came in, looking cold as ice. The money had red stuff on it. I asked him about it, and he said he cut his hand, but his hand didn't look like it had been cut. I switched out a $20 before I made a deposit to see if it was red-dye. I thought he might have robbed a bank or something."

"Was the bill tested?"

"Yeah, I sent it to the fraud department. It was blood."

Provenza smirked. "Do you know what happened to the bill?"

"I can ask." Connor called the fraud department. Luckily, they always keep a bill on the record in case a closed case gets reopened.

Flynn and Provenza took the bill to take to SID.

Sanchez was getting really good at Angry Birds.

"Do you ever work?" Sykes admonished.

"Do you ever have fun?" Sanchez retorted.

"I'm lots of fun."

"Yeah, like a root canal."

Sykes went back to her laptop.

Tao was compiling everything they had on the case for ADA Hobbes.

Raydor was in her office getting ready to check her e-mail when she got a phone call. "Hey, Sharon."

"Brenda, what's up?"

"Just making sure you're still coming on Saturday."

"This case …." Sharon didn't know what to say. They were trying to keep Brenda out of this one,.

"Is wrapping up really soon I bet."

"Yeah it's almost over." That might be true.

"Great, Our day starts at 10AM. I'll text you the address.

"You can text?"

"Yes, I can text. Smartypants, and Andrea and I are going to the mall afterwards if you want to come."

"Shopping too. This will take all day."

"That's what girlfriends are for. Bye Sharon."

_Ahh that woman_. It didn't take long for Brenda to just take over a situation. Sharon was trying to cancel and somehow she confirmed._ Oh boy_

Andrea kept staring at her hair. Nothing looked right as she adjusted it in her handheld mirror. _This will have to do _ she thought, giving up and driving to the station.

Flynn and Provenza went to SID to drop off the bill. They then went back to the squad room.

"This case is so over," Provenza announced.

"We found the holy grail." Flynn added.

"Yes Lieutenants." Raydor didn't like it when they smiled so much. It usually meant trouble.

"Well they held onto a bill from Stroh's deposit, and we took it to the lab to match the blood on it." Flynn

"If it's Prescott, and I'm sure it is, game over." Provenza said.

Andrea came into the room. She looked lovely that day, pastel blue shirt to bring out her eyes, black A-line skirt, blazer that managed to hug her breasts just right. Flynn wanted to leave with her just then.

"I compiled a report of our progress for you," Tao told her.

"Thanks Lieutenant Tao." She had been distracted, pretending to look at the board but eyeing Andy from the corner of her eye. He wore a lime green shirt, green tie and dark grey pants and jacket. They looked good on him, and they would look better on her bedroom floor.

"Have you spoken to the Chief Taylor?" Raydor asked.

"No. Was I supposed to?" Hobbes didn't work for him, luckily.

"He said something about wanting to stay in the loop with the appeal." Sharon had zoned out when he was talking to her.

"Oh! I left that to the appellate team. The DA hired a private firm to prepare the briefs and stuff. He does not want to have to retry him. I can ask them to set up a meeting with him."

"Great. Maybe he'll stop bothering me about it."

"He could have just called the office if he wanted to talk to the DA."

"Taylor, do something himself," Flynn guffawed.

"That's _Chief_ Taylor," Sanchez said with a sneer. All the boys were snickering and making jokes.

Provenza stood up. "The Royal _Chief _Russell Taylor the 18th will see you now_._" Provenza did a bow.

They were all in stitches.

"Let's try and do some work, gentlemen."

"Like what, Captain?" Sanchez didn't see anything else for them to do. They're waiting on DNA from the lab, they can't interview their suspect.

"Like see if our witness can identify Stroh by his voice."

"Did we not tell you, Captain?" Provenza forgot. "Thomas picked out Stroh's voice in an audio lineup two days ago."

"And I'm just hearing this now?"

"We didn't actually conduct the lineup. We left it to the audio technician who works with legal to make sure we don't screw it up. They called with the results and I meant to put it on the board, but I got a phone call from my daughter and I forgot. Apparently, some punk boyfriend, well know ex-boyfriend, borrowed money from her and didn't pay her back."

"Did you beat her up, Old Man?" Sanchez taunted him.

"No. I sent him a subpoena saying he either had to repay the money or else he would be sent to debtor's prison."

"The US doesn't have debtor's prison." Sharon sighed.

"I know, but this fool didn't know that. He paid her back right away." Flynn laughed, what a sucker.

"That is totally unethical Lieutenant." Raydor was not very amused, well a little amused, but he couldn't know that.

"You say unethical. I say genius."

Fritz came into the squad room. "Can I borrow Buzz for the afternoon?"

"Doesn't the FBI have a surveillance guy?"

"Yeah, but he's busy on another case."

"Sure. It doesn't look like we're doing much today."

Provenza started to eye the door.

"Don't even think about it Lieutenant."

Provenza sighed.

"Want to catch some con artists?"

Jewelry Dealer's house

Sykes drove the van. Buzz ran the equipment. He had a wire on Fritz and a camera on him. Sharon sat on the inside with Tao. Flynn and Provenza waited in one car down the street. Sanchez waited in another. Agent Howard approached the house alone. The surveillance team wasn't really necessary, but Fritz was the only Agent on the case, and he wanted to make sure he could prove his case. He wanted something in his work day to go right. The ADA was a total bitch to him today for no reason. He told her what happened, and she got mad at him. Said his account made the guy sound crazy. Maybe he was. Maybe he just has a temper. I'm no shrinkFritz thought to himself as she went on and on. If she doesn't want to put me on the stand, don't, but leave me alone already. Eventually, Fritz found a chance to escape and he did. "Blech!" he said as he got out the building.

He knocked. A man came out.

"Who are you?"

"I'm here to buy the bracelet."

The man ushered Fritz inside. Fritz quickly looked around. The place was crappy looking from the outside, but nicely furnished on the inside: nice couches and tables, big tv, all new appliances in the kitchen. counted out the cash and handed the man $400. In exchange, he got a bracelet that retailed for about $1000.

"Do you have any other jewelry for sale?" The man left to another room. This place smells like curry powder and pho. As it happens, the family also runs a food truck without a license. They prepare the fod in the kitchen and take it out in their truck. The smell of the spices got into the wallpaper.

The man came back. Fritz also bought a watch and some earrings. They came with the original boxes.

Fritz thanked the man and left. Fritz left and called in a warrant and a judge issued it right away. Flynn and Provenza got to work. They started arguing loudly in front of the man's house. He was trying to watch _Days of Our Lives_ and did not like the interruption. He came outside to tell them to shut up and Sanchez grabbed him from behind. He got cuffed and taken away for theft by deception. They searched the house and found plenty of jewelry, cash, books on how to melt down gold and remold it, and a bunch of coins. They seized it all.

Bobby got the call from Chuck. He was the new general manager. He had orientation for Friday, Monday and Tuesday and his first full day would be Wednesday. Bobby couldn't wait. He took Hunter for a run. Hunter was going to miss Bobby being home so much. She sighed and got back to running, chasing butterflies, squirrels, anything that dared approach her.

They got back. Bobby hopped in the shower and Hunter found her water dish and Joel sleeping on the couch.


	15. Friday Night, Party Night

Prosecutor's Office

Brenda now had a fan. Traffic Division was thrilled that they got their officer back and that the case was over. She got invited to come out for drinks with them on Friday. Bobby got the same invitation, and he said they'd both be there. Brenda was unsure; she didn't really know any of them, well other than that incident where she backed into a car and then left and refused to fill out her paperwork, but hey, what's water under the bridge? She roped Gabriel and the rest of their new team into joining the party.

_Ring Ring_

_Now who could that be? _Brenda answered her cell. "Hello"

"Hey Aunt who never calls me?"

"Charlie? How are you?"

"You would know if you ever called?"

"I called you, um …." Brenda couldn't really remember the last time she called, well she meant to call a bunch of times. "I hear you might be coming to LA for Christmas."

"Well, I could, I guess..."

"Please do. We would love to have you. Your dad misses you. We all do."

"Well, he's actually the one I wanted to talk about. Mom hired this hotshot lawyer, and I'm afraid Dad's going to get thrown under the bus leaving Cousin Jacob to handle matters."

"He hired that fool?" Brenda shook her head.

"I know, right? I don't know what to do. Who did you use when you got divorced?"

Brenda sighed. She did not want to think about that man she had married, or that excuse for a man. "I used Heller and Kraft. I could give them a call, but it's your Dad's decision."

"But Dad doesn't do well with this kind of stuff. Who drives across the country and says well whatever to his own divorce?"

"Your Dad, that's who." They both laughed. Bobby was a character; he always would be.

"I'll ask."

"Can you talk to Dad for me about this? I don't want him to get screwed, but I also don't want to be in the middle."

"Of Course. Just focus on school, Honey."

"Speaking of dads, how's Grandpa."

"I think going to Florida with Jr. was a good call. The house just has too many memories. I need to call him."

"Do it today, lest you forget."

"Me forget to call. Never!" They both laughed at that too.

"Bye Aunt Brenda, and save my number in your phone."

"Okay okay. Bye."

Brenda looked at her phone. _How do you save a number that called you? _Maybe it's that shadow of a guy with a plus sign on it. Brenda pushed it, oh okay, and typed in Charlie Johnson for the name.

She thought about what Charlie said. _I guess I'll do it now._

"Hi Daddy."

"Who is this?"

"It's me Daddy. Brenda." She hoped he wasn't getting senile.

"Oh! I didn't recognize your voice. It's been so long since I heard it." Clay was ribbing her, like only he could.

"Oh you hush. I am not that bad."

"Sure, you're not. Just too bad to visit your father in warm, sunny Florida."

"You know I want to visit. I have to see when Fritz can take off work."

"Christmas?"

"I think Charlie might be coming out here to see us."

"You're taking her too. Why not just put a dagger in your father's heart?"

"Daddy, you have plenty of grandkids in Florida."

"You can't just sub them out Brenda. They're not football players."

"They aren't I thought that's what Trey (Clay III) did."

"He plays soccer, and no, you can't just sub them out."

"Maybe Thanksgiving?" It was soon, but her dad was getting old. Brenda did want to spend more time with him.

"You would leave LA for Thanksgiving."

"I can try."

"Hmmm, well I would love to see you, not that I would expect you to be able to leave your new job."

"Oh Dad. You're so fussy. I'll talk to Fritz this afternoon."

"Well, if you insist."

"Bye Dad."

Brenda texted Fritz. "How would you feel about going to FL for Thanksgiving to see Daddy."

Before she got a response, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

It was Gabriel. He had a sad look on his face.

"What's wrong David?"

"I just keep striking out." David pulled up a chair. He had been dating this accountant after the fallout he had with his ex-girlfriend/Goldman spy.

"What happened?"

"She had a timeline. Get married by this date, have kids starting here, etc. We had only been dating three months. I thought she was cool, but I wasn't ready to commit to so much so fast. She flipped out at me and took off. Are there no more normal women out there?"

"I hardly think I constitute normal." Brenda laughed. She couldn't figure out what David was doing wrong. He was handsome, kind, respectful, had a job, but he could not make anything work with a woman. "Maybe you're looking in the wrong place."

"What do you mean?"

"People have trouble with their pathology, especially their dating pathology. They often keep looking for the same thing hoping that this time, they'll get it right. Maybe you need to date a woman who's the opposite of who you've been dating."

"What?"

"It can't hurt to try. Sign up for something you usually don't do, a painting class, an outdoors club. See what's out there."

_Gabriel had not expected this to be her advice. He didn't really know what he expected._ "I never thought about it that way. So is Fritz the opposite of the guys you used to date?"

"I guess he is."He is in a way. He's caring, and he loves her for who she is, not who he wants her to be. Brenda did often date law enforcement, but that's not so odd. They're so many men and so few women, gotta go where the odds are good.

Gabriel had a lot to think about. Not now though. He should just work. "How are we doing on the Sayer's case?"

"We're not. She took a deal, so she could go home to NY and serve her sentence there. She wanted to be closer to her family. Why don't you take the rest of the day off, David? Go clear your mind or something."

"Thanks, Chief." David was off.

Brenda looked at her stack of paperwork. _I wish someone were here to give me the day off_

Station

Andrea was on the phone with the legal team handling Stroh's appeal. She asked them if they could spare time for a meeting to see Chief Taylor about the developments. They said they would schedule a time with them. Andrea warned them that he likes to see work done by other people. The less he perceives that he has to do, the happier he will be.

She hung up the phone and two arms swooped around her from behind. Before she could react, she got spun and kissed softly.

"Hello Sweethart."

"Andy, we're at work." She was blushing, happy to feel his touch again.

"I can be stealthy." He led her to Taylor's old cubicle, which still was there for some unknown reason. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her neck. "I don't know if I can wait until Saturday."

"I know the feeling." She laced her fingers with his, and they shared a moment. Then, they heard Provenza in the hall.

"Gotta go," he whispered as he went behind the cubicle and down the hallway.

Andrea waited a minute and then went the other direction

FBI Office

Fritz got Brenda's text. _Thanksgiving_. That's a long way for a short trip. Fritz was about to call her, but he changed his mind. I bet Clay guilted her into this. We'll talk at home. Fritz's phone started to ring.

"Hello."

"Fritz, my man."

"Bobby, what's up?" _Shouldn't this guy be at work. _

"I was wondering if you would be interested in getting a smoker for the yard."

"A smoker, for what."

"For Barbeque, duh. How do you live without one, ribs, pulled pork, smoked fish, smoked chicken, smoked, peppers."

"Where will we put it? We don't have a yard."

"Damn. I hadn't thought about that. Do you think the landlord would let us put one in the common yard?"

"You can ask him." Fritz was sure the guy would say no. He barely let Brenda have a cat.

"I will. See you later dude."

_The Johnsons are taking over_ Fritz sighed as he went back to his paperwork. He saw it and groaned. He did not want to do any more of this crap. He caught the guy, isn't that enough for once.


	16. Girls Day Out!

Saturday came along.

Brenda need coffee. She had a little too much the night before.

"Add some Baileys," Bobby muttered. "It will cure you."

Brenda thought that might be a bad idea. Then, she remembered Andrea was picking her up. She poured some in her mug and put it back. What Fritzi didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Brenda started to sip. Aww, that felt good.

Bobby went with a Bloody Mary. He was in England when he learned that a stiff drink made a hangover go away. "I hope I didn't get you in trouble at work."

"I don't work for LAPD anymore. Not my problem."

"Maybe that's for the best. That FID guy is a total dick."

"I bet they all want Darth Raydor back."

"Who? That's what they called the Captain behind her back. She was a hardass, but at least she's a human underneath it all."

"All of what."

"The rule-enforcing, the second guessing, it goes with the job. No one becomes FID to make friends."

"You can say that again." They finished their drinks. Bobby started making breakfast.

"Can I help?"

"Can you whisk some eggs?"

Brenda got the eggs ready and Bobby got out the bread, butter, sausage and fruit. Bobby made a mixed fruit medley. He took the eggs from Brenda and added milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, a little vanilla, and some crushed pistachios.

"Where did you learn to cook all of this?"

"I shadowed Mom. I dated a girl in culinary school in college. I guess practice."

Brenda was jealous. Andrea keeps saying I should join her class.

"You should. Cooking isn't scary once you learn to trust yourself." Bobby heated up the skillet. Can you handle the sausage.

"Uh"

"Just turn it so it doesn't burn." He handed her a spatula.

"Okay." Brenda watched the sausage like a hawk.

Bobby soaked the bread into the egg mixture, coated them in pistachio crumbles and and started to sear the bread. He plated the French toast and added some fruit to the side of the plate. Brenda added the sausage. I'll get Fritzi.

"Baby, Breakfast is ready."

Fritz put on some sweatpants and a white t-shirt and made his way into the kitchen. He washed his hands and sat down. "What's on the menu?"

"We have a pistachio-encrusted French toast, with a tropical fruit medley and sausage. Bon Appetit."

Fritz took a bite. It was excellent. He didn't understand how Bobby could be a partying drunkard at night and a culinary genius during the day. He began to chow down.

"This is great Bobby." Brenda loved the toast. It was syrupy and crunchy at the same time. Who knew pistachio's could be so good.

"I had you're help."

Fritz almost spit out his food. Brenda helped with this.

Hunter came out. She watched the meal, longingly. Joel was asleep, even the smell of sausage couldn't wake him.

The doorbell rang. "Oh that must be Andrea."

"Hi. Come in. We were just finishing breakfast."

"Would you like something for the road?" Bobby offered.

"The French toast is excellent," Fritz recommended it, although he'd rather eat it himself.

"I don't know how portable French toast is." Andrea did love the smell though.

"I got it." Bobby put the sausage on a wooden skewer, added some syrup to it, and wrapped the French toast around it. He took a toothpick to hold the toast to the sausage and wrapped the skewer with a napkin.

"Southern Style breakfast on a stick."

"Why thank you." She and Brenda headed for the spa.

Andrea ate her breakfast on the way to the car. She didn't want syrup in her car. It was delicious, crunchy, salty, sweet, meaty. "Your brother can cook. It must not be the generic."

"Hey. I made that sausage."

"Really?"

"I think he's trying to teach me."

"He's a brave soul."

"So how was your night."

"Same old."

"You didn't spend it with your Lieutenant." Brenda smirked. Andy wasn't bad looking, not at all, but he had too much attitude for her. Brenda liked being the attitude in the bedroom.

"He spent Friday volunteering with a Food Bank."

"Really?"

"His daughter wanted him to go. He was so glad she was speaking to him, that he went."

"That's nice."

They pulled up in the parking lot. Raydor met them there.

They exchanged hellos and went inside. Brenda said her name. We have a reservation for 10. I don't see it, the host said with a snotty voice. Brenda showed them her appointment card, and they were taken right away. She always got a handwritten card. The host was a dick who would like to give his friends other people's slots if he could get away with it. Brenda could go elsewhere, but they had the best masseuses in town. Three Swedish triplets came out. They were all gorgeous. Blond hair, blue eyes, big muscles.

Sharon was stunned. Leave it to Brenda to find the three hunkiest masseuses in LA. The girls went to a dressing room to disrobe. Brenda was prancing about naked. Andrea hit her butt with a towel."

"Hey!" Brenda retaliated with a squirt bottle.

Sharon ducked out of the line of fire. "Let's go already."

"Someone wants to get a Swede on her," Andrea remarked.

"Or a Swede in her," Brenda retorted. She and Andrea laughed at that and Raydor turned bright red. It had been a while since she had a man. _So what!_

The girls went on to their massages. Each brother had been trained in Sweden and came to the US to show off their talents. They did everything together, the same school, they all had apartments in the same neighborhood. They had even been known to share the same girlfriends.

"Awwww yeah," Brenda was purring. Her masseuse found her sweet spot on her back, and she was loving it.

Andrea was quietly enjoying herself. She had a knot in her back that wouldn't come out. It might have been from the tumble she took when she was running the week before.

Sharon was a little tense. It was an intimate thing to be naked and rubbed by a man. "Relax," he told her. He poured some warm oil on her back and she sighed. He lightened his touch, trying to calm her down. He knew the type, anxious, stressed, needs a massage but is too wrapped up in her own headspace to enjoy herself. It could be worse. She could be one of the bossy types who is always complaining or one of the Blanche Devereauxs. She actually looked pretty good, not that she would ever relax long enough to find a man. "Maybe you should take up boxing or something. You really need to deal with all of this stress."

Sharon sighed. She needed to find some type of release.

"Try thinking of a happy place," Brenda suggested between her purrs and mutters.

Sharon closed her eyes and imagined being on the beach, drinking a mango daiquiri and watching the waves crash. She imagined going for a swim, the cold water and the warm sun battling for position on her skin. Eventually, her mind left the massage room all together, and she was in her own world. She finally gave up control of her body, and let her masseuse do his work. She growled and grumbled as he found the knows in her back and legs and pushed them out.

Their hour ended too soon, and it was time to go. Sharon was asleep.

"Uh," her masseuse didn't know what to do. Brenda covered her lips with her finger and snuck up behind her. Brenda grabbed a towel and whipped Sharon's back with hit.

"AHHH" She yelled. Brenda bust out laughing. Time to go sleepy head. The girls put their clothes on, tipped the masseuses, paid their bill and went on to get their hair and nails done. 2PM rolled around, and they were relaxed and looking great.

"I could eat," Brenda said as they got out of the nail salon.

"Me too," said Andrea.

"Late Lunch." They found a sandwich shop and got some food.

"How was your night?" Andrea asked.

"I read. Rusty went out with his new friends."

"You read." Brenda rolled her eyes. This woman needed a man.

"What did you have an affair to remember."

"Well," Brenda recounted her night, the drinking, the dancing, the arguing and the fight.

"FID and Traffic got into a brawl at the bar!" Sharon was stunned, and not sad to have left FID at this point.

"Branson started it. He just started getting really nasty, and his thug attacked Bobby without warning."

"They started it?"

"Yeah. It was totally nuts. It was like opposite world."

Andrea was sad she missed such a spectacle.

Brenda's phone rang. "Hello. Hey Bobby. You locked yourself out. Where's Fritz? He took Hunter to the park." Brenda gave Bobby the address, so he could meet them.

"I have go give Bobby my keys because he locked his in the house." Brenda rolled her eyes. "He's so scatterbrained sometimes. He focuses on one thing and forgets all else."

Andrea and Sharon gave each other a look. They both tried not to laugh. The Johnson genes ran strong it seemed.

Bobby appeared. His brown hair shone in the sun. His big brown eyes caught Sharon's attention. He had quite a build. "Hey Bren." He kissed her on the forehead.

She handed him her keys. He sat down and ordered a burger. "I could eat a whole cow."

Bobby sat down with the girls. They all looked good today. Sharon's green eyes caught his attention.

"I heard you got into a rumble last night."

"Branson started it. He's a bitch."

Brenda snickered. _That was the truth._

"Do you always hit bitches?" Sharon was trying to figure him out.

"Only when they grab you from behind. If you're gonna hit a dude, hit him from the front. Sneak attacks, that's for bitches." Bobby bit into his burger, meaty and cheesy, awesome. "You know the guy. Tell me he's not an ass."

Sharon laughed. Branson was not well liked, by anyone, except maybe the goons he took with him when Taylor gave him FID. "So what do you do when you're not fighting."

"BBQ. I'm going to get a smoker, and you will all see the magic of a real southern BBQ."

"Really?" Brenda's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah! Pulled Pork, Ribs, Smothered, Chicken, coleslaw. You're in for quite a treat."

"Bobby's a great cook. I love his French toast." Andrea was a fan. He might be a hillbilly, but he's a fine-tuned one.

"What are you doing tonight?" Brenda asked him.

"I was going to take Hunter to the beach for a run. It's nice and cool. The people are mostly gone, just open salty air and sand."

That sounded nice, Sharon muttered.

Brenda saw them eyeing each other. They both were in marriages going no where. _Why not?_

"You love the beach." Brenda told Sharon as if she didn't know. "And you run."

_Brenda is not setting me up with her brother. _No way could I handle another Johnson.

Brenda tapped Bobby's food. _What? _He thought. _Oh!_ "You're welcome to come with me."

Sharon blushed. She had no plans of her own.

"Sharon and Bobby sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Brenda loved teasing him.

"Oh you hush/Shut up" They both said at the same time.

"Well if you're up for going out, I'll be on Redondo Beach." Bobby smiled and headed home.

"Brenda are you nuts?" Sharon seethed when Bobby was out of earshot.

"What? You were looking at him like he was meat on a skewer."

Andrea chuckled. She was so glad Brenda wasn't there when she had her first night out with Flynn. She could just see it now.

"I was not!" Sharon was defensive. Maybe she was, so what. She can look at whomever she wants.

"You should go. He's a good guy." Brenda thought highly of her brother, even though he could be a tad immature at time.

"We should get to the mall," Andrea said. "I need to pick up somethings before tonight."

"Ooooh! Hot date." Brenda smiled. She kept her promise not to say his name.

Andrea blushed. "You bitch."

Sharon could tell Andrea wanted to keep her lover a secret, so she didn't pry.

"To the mall!"

They got to the shops. Andrea needed to get a new dress and Brenda was more concerned with lingerie. Sharon didn't know what to get if anything.

They found Andrea a pretty pink dress that showed off her legs. "Is this too short?" Andrea was a little nervous.

"He's a legs guy," Brenda whispered into her ear.

_How did Brenda know that?_ She wondered. She got the dress and they left.

"Next stop, lingerie." Brenda wanted something bold. She got the blue lingerie and the honey dust.

Andrea browsed. She wondered if it was too soon be getting something like this. Brenda saw a teddy that she thought would suit Andrea nicely. "You should get this."

Andrea didn't know about that. It was a little see through, well more than a little see through.

Sharon wasn't getting anything here. She hadn't worn lingerie in who knows how long and for whom would she wear it?

Brenda grabbed a teddy and threw it at Raydor. "Do you think you could run in this?" Brenda ran away as Raydor swatted at her. Brenda chuckled the whole time.

They left the store and passed the Nike shop on the way out. "Do you need running clothes?"

"I'm not going, Brenda."

"You'd rather date your right hand. You're quite the recluse."

Sharon couldn't believe this woman. _How inappropriate!_ "I have plenty of running clothes." Sharon chose to ignore Brenda's other comment.

"Then, what's the problem. You like the beach. He likes the beach. You both run."

"There's more to it than that."

"It's not like he's proposing to you. So you go out with someone new for a couple of hours. Maybe you hit it off, and maybe you get bored of each other. You will never find anyone going home every weekend and staying there. Someday, Rusty will be going to college and where does that leave you?"

"I can take care of me, just fine, Brenda."

"Maybe it's been too long. You don't know how to date anymore, so you shut down."

"Are you suggesting I'm too old to date?"

"Well, I wasn't going to put it that way, but now that you said it."

"Humph!" Sharon was insulted by that. "I'll show you, Brenda."

Brenda smiled. Her devious plan worked. Sharon got a running jacket, she usually didn't run at night.

After Sharon left, Andrea and Brenda got into the car. "You're evil," Andrea told her.

"Genius. It's evil genius." Brenda corrected her.

"Bating Sharon into going on a date with your brother."

"What? Who knows the last time she dated? She needs to get back on the horse."

"And what about your brother? His marriage just failed."

"And he needs to have some fun. Get out there. Talk to people. Maybe this will be good for them." Brenda was optimistic. She didn't see them lasting too long. Sharon was too serious for him, but she needed to have some fun, and Bobby was nothing if not fun.


	17. Puff the Magic Dragon (a 420 bonus)

Charlie put down her bong. She had taken quite a hit. Her mind was a little wobbly. She took a deep breath. Her anxiety washed away as her ears filled with the Grateful Dead. Her boyfriend was a little worried about her. She didn't usually smoke so much, but her parents' divorce was getting to her. He wanted her to find another way to deal with her stress.

"Do you want to go to the Smithsonian later today?"

"Why would I want to leave my bed?"

"I think it would do you some good to get some fresh air."

Charlie sighed. Her boyfriend packed a bag, water, sun chips, sunglasses and a camera. He let Charlie rest for about 15 minutes and then ushered her to the subway.

Charlie grumbled the whole way there, but once she got out of the metro and saw the sunshine and the flowers and trees, her whole disposition changed. She grabbed his hand and they walked to the botanical garden.

While Charlie was gone, her roommate hit the bong. Her head filled with pleasant thoughts. Charlie knew how to get good product. Her roommate decided to make some cookies. Yum!

Charlie leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder and watched the bugs crawl around on the plants. Bugs were kind of gross, but they do so much for our ecosystem. Random tangents from Charlie's biology class fluttered her mind as she started to come down. Her stomach growled. Time for some chips.

The Alps

Jimmy Johnson and Frank went on a hike. The weather was nice and cool. The scenery was beautiful. Jimmy wouldn't be any happier. He pulled out a little pipe and took a puff.

Frank looked around. They saw no one. Frank took the pipe from Jimmy and took a hit. They both leaned into each other and looked down. They were a couple of miles up already. The site was fantastic. Jimmy kissed Frank on the side of his face. "Just you and me."

Frank was happy, but he did want to get to know Jimmy's family better. They seemed like a close bunch, and he felt like an outsider. Jimmy was out at work and with his friends, so that was a start for a Southern boy, but he wondered why he held back on the family.

Jimmy's relationship with Frank was an open secret. Everyone knew except for Clay Sr. He didn't seem to get any of the signs, that were quite obvious. They sat together for a bit and then blew away the ash and got back to hiking. They were having lunch when they got to the top.

The Beach

Kyle smoked a joint as he sat on the beach. He enjoyed the sun and the nice, salty air. Rusty was skipping rocks on the water. _He was a dreamboat_ Kyle thought as he took a puff. He put out the joint and decided to run into the water, pushing Rusty in with him. They wrestled and frolicked together, the sun hitting their faces. Playfully, Kyle held Rusty under the water. Rusty managed to flip him, and they both went under. When they came back up, Kyle kissed him.


	18. Date Night x 3

Herbie Hancock played in the background

Andrea took a shower, careful not to ruin her newly done hair. She shaved and then got out. She dried off, put on perfume and jewelry, did her makeup and got dressed. She was just putting on her jacket when the doorbell rang. She answered.

"Andy," She greeted him with a kiss and pulled him into the door. "Thank you for the flowers. They were perfect."

He stepped inside, gently kissing her back. "You smell fantastic." Her hair, her neck, everything smelled nice. She looked great too, pretty in pink.

Flynn smelled like a mixture of oak, vanilla, and aftershave. She kissed his jaw and bit his ear. "I can't wait," she whispered into his ear.

Flynn wanted to take her then and there, but he had reservations, and he thought she'd really like this place. He pulled her towards him and gave her another kiss. "Ready to go."

"Just let me grab my purse." She grabbed her little handbag, and they were off.

Flynn got a new car, well new for him. The cost of fixing the old one was too high so Flynn scrapped the vehicle, selling of the remaining good parts and got a Chevy.

"This is much nicer," Andrea said as she sat down.

"I know. This might make it to the restaurant and back." He laughed.

Andrea turned on the radio and found the jazz station. She looked at him as he drove. She really wanted him to turn back around and give it to her. Forget food, all she wanted was Flynn.

"See something you like," he snickered.

"Actually, I do. That's the weird part."

"I guess I walked into that one."

They got to the restaurant. Flynn opened her car door and walked with her to the restaurant, his arm linked with hers. They were seated shortly. The waiter came by and introduced himself with a smile. He presented them with menus and a wine list, but Andrea wanted a scotch on the rocks. Flynn went with cranberry juice.

"You drink Scotch."

"My dad didn't have any sons. He taught me about scotch, and my sisters about cigars and golf."

"You must have had great Fathers' Days."

"He was ridiculous. My dad decided when I was 16 to teach me how to drive and how to drink Scotch on the same day."

Flynn looked stunned.

"We did the driving lesson first, but we had no way of getting home after the scotch tasting. Mom had to pick us up. She was not amused."

Their drinks came, and she drank a sip. The alcohol rushed straight to her head. She got a little lightheaded and was starting to get wet. She couldn't believe she had a whole dinner to get through.

Flynn's hand found Andrea's, and he gazed into her eyes. This moment could last forever. The waiter came by to tell them the specials. They had a special for two, a spicy linguini with Alfredo sauce and roasted vegetables and oysters topped with black truffle. Flynn didn't want the oysters, but he did want to share a dish. "Could we get the oysters on a separate plate?"

"Not a problem."

"They say oysters are an aphrodisiac." Andrea blushed after she said it.

Flynn giggled. She was adorable, and she was all his. He quickly kissed her across the table. "How's that for an aphrodisiac?"

She kissed him again, this one a little longer. She bit his lip before she broke the kiss.

The waiter came back with plate of mussels and saffron risotto.

"We didn't order this," she told him.

"On the house," he smiled and turned away. He could tell they just started dating and knew they would come back if they had the perfect dinner.

Andrea bit into a mussel. This is delicious.

"I'll take your word for it." He bit into the risotto. It was tasty. He put a bit on his fork and fed it to Andrea. She would have fed him a mussel, but well, she somehow fell for a vegetarian.

They finished their first course and Andrea told the waiter, they were going to get some fresh air for a minute. They went out to the patio. As soon as they were out of sight, Andrea gave him a sloppy kiss, pulling him towards her aggressively. She wanted him, all of him, and her body called the shots. Flynn wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her hips into his. "I want you," she whispered into his ear. "Right here, right now."

"As much as I would love to, I like this place and don't want to get banned for life."

"Waiting is hard," she hissed as she gently rubbed his crotch.

Little Flynn was starting to pulse. "But it will be so good when I have you, all night long." He bit her neck. His hands found her ass, and he copped a feel. "We don't want dinner to get cold."

They went back to the table. The waiter brought their food out once they were seated. He served them, and they started to eat. Andrea ordered another Scotch. She needed something to calm her nerves. She saw Flynn, looking handsome as ever in his suit, and she wanted to rip off his clothes and ride him right in that chair. _What has come over me?_ She wondered as she got lost in his eyes. She was hardly this horny before they started seeing each other, but now she felt like a 16 year old girl. She couldn't stop thinking about him and his kisses and his hot breath and his touch and his cock. Oh she could just drop under the table and suck it now. Andrea's foot slid out of her shoe, and her foot slowly grazed his leg. He smiled and her foot worked her way up his thigh, and she slowly brushed against his crotch. She could feel his erection, and she knew she was in for a great night.

Flynn was starting to sweat a little. The food was fantastic, but it wasn't the spice that was getting his goat. Andrea knew exactly how to tease him, how to get him going but move gently enough to keep him from blowing it in his pants. She smirked at him and signaled the waiter. "Could we box the rest of this?" She wanted him naked and in her bed.

The waiter brought them a check. Flynn took it. Andrea left a tip and they were off. She pinched his butt on the way to the car. It was nice and firm. They got inside and headed to her house. She rubbed his thigh as he drove. He started speeding, not knowing how much longer he would ask. She moved closer to his crotch. He started to squirm. She wanted him to lose it, just not yet. When he started to turn red, she eased up. _What a cocktease?_ Soon enough, they were in her driveway. They got out of the car and got to her door. Before she could open it, he kissed her, his hands finding her ass, and his tongue ravishing her mouth.

She groaned into his mouth as she fumbled for her keys. His hips started grinding into hers, and she started to breathe heavily. "I want you so bad," he told her as he began to kiss her neck.

"I want you to take me." She moaned. She was very wet and could have him, right here on her front porch. She finally got her key in the hole. "Let's go inside." She didn't have to tell him twice. He rushed her inside and shut the door. She barely had time to lock it before he led her into the living room, kissing and clawing at her. She grabbed the remote and put on the music. Norah Jones always got her in the mood. They stumbled into the study. It was a beautiful room, covered in giant bookshelves and a large oak desk. He hiked up her dress and she unzipped his fly. He pinned her to the wall. She didn't even want to wait for him to get her upstairs. "Take me now."

He grabbed a condom from his suit jacket pocket and put it on. It wasn't long before he was inside her, her legs wrapped around his hips, her feet perched on his backside. She groaned loudly as he thrust in her. He moaned as he began to pump in and out.

"Aww FUCK!" She yelled. "Give it to me." The bookshelf wasn't exactly comfortable, but she didn't care. She had him exactly where she wanted him and she wasn't about to complain. He pounded her, and she begged him for more. "YES! THAT'S IT!"

He loved hearing her yelling for him. His head found her neck, and he began to bite her. "AWWW!" She started cumming. He was soon to follow.

They collapsed on the desk afterwards, the room smelling of sex and perfume. "We didn't even get upstairs."

"What's the rush?" She kissed him on the cheek. "We have all night." They caught their breath and Flynn unzipped her dress. He pulled it off of her, leaving her in a bra and in a thong. He looked her up and down. He wanted to ride her all night. She made quick work of his suit, leaving him in nothing but a tie. "I like the tie," she husked as she began biting and scratching him. He picked her up and tried to get her to the bedroom, but she was too frisky. They collapsed on the couch and began wrestling with each other, kissing, biting, scratching, hair pulling. There were no limits to their aggression when they were horny. He put on another condom, and she began to ride him. He undid her bra and threw it across the room. He then began pinching and sucking on her nipples. Andrea angled her hips forward and began to ride more vigorously. He began biting her nipples, making her yelp and growl as she rode him. He was ready to blow again. He grabbed her hips and started to thrust into her. His hot breath found her neck and he began to piston in and out of her. "Awww yess!" she cried out as another orgasm came over her. It didn't take much to put Flynn over the edge. Her O face did it for him, and he was gone. They collapsed onto the living room table.

Andrea was covered in sweat. Her hair was a mess and her makeup smudged. _She never looked sexier _Flynn thought as he kissed her.

Andrea lied on the table, panting and out of breath. She loved his dick, and she wanted more. Usually, after one or two fucks she was good, but she wanted Andy all night long. She was insatiable. Lust filled her. After about ten minutes of naked, sweaty spooning, she kissed him and slipped to the floor. _S_he lied there hoping the cool air below would cool her down. She rolled onto her stomach. Flynn loved the view, her ass was nice and round, and he wanted to mount her from behind. She started to get on her hands and knees, perhaps in an attempt to get up, but Flynn saw it as an invitation, and he took it. He was quickly behind her, his hands on her hips, and he kissed her back.

Andrea moaned as his lips traveled up and down her back and along the back of her neck. His teeth found her neck and his cock found her awaiting pussy. He plunged in her, making her scream. "AWW FUCK YEAH!" He loved the angle of being behind her. He slowly pulled out and went back in. "UGGGHH!" she groaned as he slowly worked his way in and out of her. Sweat dripped off of both of them as they began to rock back and forth. He thrust into her, and her hips moved to meet his thrusts. They both grunted and moaned and cursed as he picked up the pace. She was sopping wet. He was hard as steel, and they both needed another release. His hands were on her hips, and he pounded her harder than he had ever before. "I'm going to cum!" She yelled again and again until she started gushing all over the place. She came over and over and over until Flynn finally lost his load and collapsed on top of her.

They both lied on the ground, worn out, hot and sticky. "Can we find a bed now?" Flynn didn't know how they never made it upstairs.

"Shower first," she said. They got into the shower. The sweat came off of them, and they covered each other in soap. They kissed and frolicked in the shower, exploring each other's body in no rush. They took their time and when they were done, he picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. He dried her off and rubbed lotion all over her body. "Aww yes," she cried out as he touched her. They hugged, both naked and in bed. "I can't get enough of you," she told him as she kissed his ear.

He looked at her. His dick somehow still wanted more. He didn't know if he could take being naked with her. He was too horny. "Let me have you," he whispered into her ear. She lied on the bed and he spread her legs. His lips moved from her mouth down to her other lips and he began to kiss her thighs gently. The idea of foreplay was out the window at this point. They went straight to the main event. His lips found her clit, and he began to kiss it gently. She sighed as he began to suck on it. His mouth worked his way with her inner folds. She got wet for him very quickly. She leaned back and enjoyed his work.

_He feels so good,_ she thought as his tongue found her g-spot. _I should please him_. She thought. She sat up and rolled him onto his back. Her mouth found his semi-hard cock, and she began to suck on him. His head made it right between her legs again, and they stayed in the 69 position, her on top of him. She sucked and stroked his dick as he ate her. It wasn't long before she was ready to lose it. "I'm going to cum," she told him as she took a quick break from his member. She went back to sucking. Flynn started to stick his fingers into her. She started riding them, readily. She really wanted to get off and she did not want to wait. He began sucking on her clit again, and she burst, juices flowing all over him.

He started to buck his hips as she got him dangerously close. "AWWW FUCK" he yelled as he blew his load into her awaiting mouth. "You're going to kill me," he sighed as he curled to a pillow.

She leaned in onto his chest. "Good night."

Brenda and Fritz's apartment.

They came back from a lovely restaurant. It was a Thai-Spanish fusion place and Brenda loved the dessert. They got home, Brenda ready to model for him, and Fritz ready to show off his toys. "Go get ready," he told her. "I have a surprise for you."

She came back in her lingerie, her chest covered in this sparkly stuff. She looked like a million bucks. Fritz grabbed her and led her into the bedroom. He kissed her neck and pushed her onto the bed. "Close your eyes."

She kept them closed. She tried to sneak a peek.

"Keep them closed," Fritz barked. He didn't have to turn around to know she was trying to sneak a peak.

Fritz came back with a black bag. He also changed out of his suit, wearing nothing but leather pants and boots.

"What's in the bag?" He smiled.

"Do you trust me?"

"Well, of course." _Now, she didn't_. This was a little creepy.

"Then relax and close your eyes. I'm going to make you feel really good." Brenda liked the sound of that. She relaxed as Fritz slowly undressed her. He tied her arms to the bedposts and then her legs. She was stuck in a star shape. She opened her eyes, and she was completely exposed. "I'm going to take good care of you," he whispered. He started to kiss her gently, starting with her lips and working his way across her chest, which tasted like honey, along her arms, along her thighs and all over her stomach. His mouth was everywhere except her pussy. His hands gently moved up and down her body. He took out a clamp and pinched her nipple. She winced and then he did the other one. His lips smothered hers as he kissed her. His lips felt good, but the clamps hurt. "I'll be back," he promised. Fritz went to get a cucumber and some ice cubes. He put an ice cube in his mouth and got it nice and cold. When he returned, he got to her hips and licked her clit.

The coldness made Brenda jump, but she was tied down, so she didn't get very far. Fritz used another ice cube to draw along her thighs and to rub her breasts. He took off the clamps and iced her nipples. The fire and the ice made an intoxicating combination. Brenda thrashed. She wanted more. He began to suck on her nipples. Her blood rushed to them, and they were throbbing. "AWWW!" she groaned loudly. Fritz kissed and sucked her breasts. He loved them, and they loved his touch. He found a Ben-wa ball and slipped it into her.

"What is that?" It was cold, but it felt really good.

"Hold that there, would you?" He smiled at her. This was going to be a long night.

He continued his assault with his mouth, kissing her all over her body. Fritz felt her skin getting hotter and hotter. He was surprised she wasn't trying to get out of her restraints. _She completely surrendered to me._ He pushed another ball into her pussy. His cock was hard, and he wanted some relief. He took off his boots and dropped his pants, straddled Brenda and presented himself to her. She couldn't really suck him at that angle since she was tied to the bed. Fritz realized the dilemma and he positioned himself, so his cock was right over her mouth. She sucked him in and began bobbing her head.

Fritz pretty much had to hold himself over her, and he was getting quite a core workout. She did wonders with her mouth, and Fritz was loving the attention.

Brenda liked having him in control of her. She wished he would grab her head and just fuck her face. She wanted him to dominate her, to make her his toy. She was a little ashamed of the thoughts running through her head. She fantasized about him taking her in public, about him tying her up and pounding her like a whore in the front yard for all to see. She wanted to give herself to him, and she wanted the world to know it. She sucked him with vigor. She wanted to feel his load in her mouth.

When he was ready to come, he pulled up a bit. He didn't want to choke her. He came into her mouth and she swallowed every drop. He pulled the balls out of Brenda and put the cucumber inside of her. "AWWW! Fuck me please."

"I will, don't you worry." Fritz smiled. He was going to fuck her nice and hard.

Brenda was desperate for a release. It felt like she had been tortured forever. He kept turning her on but not getting her off. She was ready to burst.

He began to slowly piston the cucumber in and out of her. She tried to buck her hips, but she couldn't get away from the rope. She yelled and screamed. "Oh Fuck! Give it to me. I want you so bad. Please have me." He got her nice and hot, quickening his pace, and she was right on the edge. He stopped and looked into her eyes, they were huge and burning with desire. She really wanted to cum. He kissed her lips and began to slowly lick her pussy. "Don't cum yet," he told her as he built her up again. When she was about to burst, he thrust the cucumber in her. She wanted to cum. He looked at her sternly and began to thrust slowly. "Wait," he told her.

"AAWWWWWW GOD!" She yelled as she came all over him.

"I told you not to come yet." He was stern.

"I couldn't help it. You make me feel so good."

Fritz untied her from the posts but then he tied her arms behind her back. He left her on the bed, lying on her stomach. Her ass was in the air, and she looked divine. He bent her over his knee. "Time for your punishment."

He swatted her ass. First, the left cheek, then the right. He took turns, each spanking getting harder than the one before. She grunted and growled. She loved being spanked. He grabbed a paddle from the bag and began to use that. "UGGGHH!" Brenda yelled as she felt the paddle strike her behind, which was now bright red. Fritz looked at his woman. She was naked, tied up, covered and sweat and ready to be fucked. He smiled and spread her legs. He checked her with her fingers. She was sopping wet and really hot. He plunged into her in one swift motion. "AWWW FUCK!" she yelled. He pulled her on top of him and told her to ride.

It was hard to keep her balance without her arms. Fritz held her up as she began to grind her hips. Her clit ground against his pelvis, and she loved the feeling. She got ready to cum again and she did. Fritz finally untied her and put her down on her hands and knees. He thrust the cucumber back in her and thrusted it in her a few times and she began bucking into him. He took some lube and slowly worked it into Brenda's backside. It didn't take him long to thrust his way into her ass, which was still sore from the spanking she got earlier. He began to pound her. She screamed loudly as he got to business. He left the cucumber inside of her. She began to fuck herself with it using a free hand. She loved being double stuffed. Fritz loved the sight of her taking it like a slut. He wanted to double stuff her. He wondered if she would go for that. He pulled on her hair as he fucked her. He wanted her to know she belonged to him tonight.

It wasn't long before she was cumming again, and Fritz was ready to lose it too. He grabbed her, pulling her towards him as he lost his load, deep inside of her.

His lips found the back of her ears as he collapsed on top of her. They were both sweaty and messy. Fritz kissed her neck and got up to draw a bath. He put candles in the bathroom and filled the tub with bubbles. He went back for his wife, picked her up and gently set her in the tub. He washed her body. He slid into the tub on the opposite side. "You haven't said a word," he told her.

"I think I'm speechless." Brenda had a range of emotions going through her. She didn't know bondage could feel so freeing. Where did Fritz get all that stuff? What else did he have? Did this make her a freak? She wanted more. Did she ask? Did he just give it to her.

"I hope it's a good speechless." He kissed her gently. They fell into each other and cuddled.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear as she collapsed on his chest. Fritz took her and dried her off. He changed the sheets, and they got into bed. She curled up next to him and promptly fell asleep. She dreamed of Fritz having her on her hands and knees, pounding her from behind and pulling her hair as onlookers watched. She started to get wet.

Fritz was too jealous to share her with another man, but he desperately wanted to see her take it in two holes at once. He kept envisioning himself, taking her ass, while some faceless, figure pounded her pussy. He knew two cocks would send her over the edge. She wouldn't be able to stop cumming. He loved it when she came all over the place, out of control. That's why he liked pushing her to the edge and backing down. When he got her really riled up, she would have the biggest release. He started to get hard just thinking about her. He reached out for her. She was wet. He pulled her on top of him. He wanted to see the look on her face as she was filled. He loved the look on her face when she took dick, intense but oh so happy. That's the only thing he didn't like about having her on her hands and knees. _I really need to get mirrors for this room. Just line them up across the wall, so I can see her every move as I fuck the daylights out of her. _

Brenda could feel Fritz's hardness. She wasn't sure if it was really there or if she was dreaming it. She reached down and there it was. She stroked him gently. He grunted out loud. "Fritzi, are you awake?"

"Yes," he grunted. Not really, but whatever.

"Will you fuck me?" Brenda asked him softly.

Fritz's eyes shot open when he heard that. He rolled over. She was naked and horny, and so was he. He picked her up and brought her to the floor. He didn't have any more sheets to change their bed. He positioned her on her hands and knees, and he started to fuck. She groaned and moaned for him as he worked his way in and out of her. "Give it to me," she cried, begging for more. He smiled with a sly grin, put his hands firmly on her hips and started to pound her hard. "AAWWWW!" She screamed as he began thrusting at full speed, as hard and fast as he could go.

He grabbed her hair and began pulling on it, hard. "AWWW YES!" She cried out. Her screaming spurred him on even more, and he began slamming himself into her, which got her to scream for more, and the cycle continued. He pushed her down, so her stomach lied on the floor. His legs surrounded her hips, and he began riding her like a bronco. She screamed into the carpet as he fucked her wild and soon enough she was cumming on the floor. He kept pounding and she kept coming, her mind still imagining voyeurs watching her every move. She didn't know why she was overcome with these thoughts, but she knew that she wanted Fritz inside of her, and she wanted people to view it. This image played out in her mind all kinds of ways. Men who could look but couldn't touch. Women who were disgusted by her wonton behavior. The idea of public exposure got her off, and she kept cumming. Soon, Fritz blew his load into her.

"Let's go to bed," he whispered. Now that they were both sufficiently tired, they both passed out. Little did they know, the neighbors, upstairs, downstairs, across the yard heard her screaming and couldn't believe they could fuck for so long. They hoped this wouldn't be a normal occurrence, but they were out of luck.

On the Beach

Bobby was ready to run. He put a bright harness on Hunter in case she tried to run off and chase something. He wore a bright headband and had a neon shirt under his black jacket. He wore black shorts and had neon socks and grey shoes. He thought he would be alone tonight but then a car pulled up. Sharon walked down to the beach, wearing an orange and yellow running outfit. _Too old to date_ Who does Brenda think she is?

Sharon made it down to the shiny looking man. "Hi Bobby. This must be Hunter."

Hunter tried to jump up and lick Sharon, but Bobby held her back. "Be polite." Hunter kept trying to jump until she learned it was futile. Then, she sat down nicely. Sharon pet her. _What a sweet dog?_ She thought. They started to run. Sharon kept up with Bobby and Hunter pretty well considering she usually doesn't run on sand. Hunter ran left and right all over looking for something worth finding. There wasn't much to be found here other than a full moon and some stars, the waves crashing and the lights from far away shining in the distance. Running and talking doesn't really work. There was a little ledge up ahead. "Let's go up there." Bobby pointed to it. They got to the top and to Sharon's surprise, there was a picnic basket there. Bobby tied Hunter's leash to a nearby tree. She lied down. She knew when she wasn't in the loop.

"A picnic. At this hour?" She laughed.

"A man's gotta eat." Bobby opened the basket. There were sandwiches, some apple crumble and a bottle of wine with two glasses.

"You know how to impress a lady."

"I know how to raid Brenda's liquor cabinet." They laughed and began to eat.

They started chatting, about their kids, about life in LA, about all kinds of stuff. Bobby told his side of the story about the fight.

"I heard Branson was a jerk, but he started insulting you all in public. What a jerk?"

"Tell me about it. His goon tackled me from behind, and we got into a fist fight."

"I take it this wasn't your first fist fight."

"I plead the fifth."

They laughed, and she told him about her one experience with a fight.

"This girl had been picking on me because I was quite the nerd in school. She left a note in my locker asking me to prom and signed the name of this boy that I liked. I went to tell him yes, and he was confused, like I was a nut. I showed him the note and when I saw his face, I knew it was her."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I left her a note saying that I was some guy and I wanted to see her after school behind the bleachers. That's where kids went to hook up or whatever and when she got there, I punched her."

"You punched a chick, not a slap or a hair tug."

"A knuckle sandwich." Sharon blushed.

"You don't say." They went on to talk about a range of menial topics. Hunter started to howl.

"I bet she's thirsty." Bobby poured her some water. She drank it readily and wagged her tail

"Oh look at the time." Sharon saw her watch. It was after midnight. "I should be getting back."

"Well it was nice seeing you. We should do this again sometime."

"We should."

Bobby looked at her, unsure if he should make a move. He didn't want to scare her away or have to explain that he was still married. Little did he know, she was still married as well. He went to shake her hand and his touch sent a jolt through Sharon's body. Her arms found his chest, and she looked at him with her green eyes. He looked into hers, and they held each other for a minute. He kissed her gently and she began to kiss him back. Hunter barked again. _Sorry Bobby, but it's past my bedtime._

_Cockblock_ Bobby thought as he broke the kiss. "Good night, Sharon." They walked back to their cars, mostly in silence but they held hands. She quickly kissed him before she got in her car and drove home.

Bobby put hunter in the truck and drove home himself. Luckily, his sister and Fritz already fell asleep. He would have died if he had heard their earlier antics.


	19. The Afterglow

Sunday Morning

Gabriel sat in church like he did every Sunday. The pastor gave his sermon, but David's mind was elsewhere. He really liked Eliza, but he was nervous about starting a new relationship. He lost his temper with Irene, his next girlfriend was a rat who cost him and the Chief their jobs with Major Crimes, and his next girlfriend was a total nut. He looked around, married couples, their children, their children's children. David wondered if he'd ever be like these families. He wondered if he even wanted that anymore. The sermon finally ended. Gabriel got up to leave. His pastor found him on his way out the door.

"Are you alright, David? You don't seem like your usual self."

"I'm in a rut. It seems like my life is just spinning wheels."

They went to his office in the back to talk. "I had a plan," David began. "I was supposed to find a woman, get married have kids, bring my kids here like my parents brought me here and live the life, but everything fell apart. I thought she was the one. She ended up costing me my friends, I had to transfer at work, my boss's career got a wrench thrown in it, and ever since, it's one mistake after another."

"You have to forgive yourself, David."

"What?"

"You blame yourself for everything, Irene, confiding in your lawyer-girlfriend I'm sure you blame yourself for whatever happened since then. You have to let go of your past, your anger, your demons."

"How do I do that?"

"Do something else this week. Do things you wouldn't ordinarily do. Go somewhere new. The world is too big to hold onto the past. Your demons live in your patterns. They can wait for you there. They can haunt you. Make new patterns. Set your foot in somewhere else."

David couldn't believe it. He pretty much told her the same thing that Brenda did. He laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"My boss told me pretty much the same thing."

"Smart lady. I don't want to see you here for the next month."

"But I come here every Sunday."

"Find somewhere else to be. Sometimes, people become too dependent on the church. They screw up, get mad at themselves, come here to feel better, just to make the screw up again next week anyway. God is with you always. You don't need to be here to find him."

"Thanks."

Gabriel was off. He had no idea what he would be doing or where to go, but _the world is big_. _I'll have to find something in it._

David walked by a building. He saw that it was covered in graffiti. It was actually very good. Someone was telling some kind of story: the kids played, the men fought, the women watched in horror and a poor boy was caught in the crossfire. Someone knew this neighborhood's history pretty well. Someone committed it to the public sphere.

He smelled fresh spray paint. He looked around the corner. The story continued to grow. Gabriel watched for a minute. This guy was really good. When he noticed he was being watched, the guy took off running. He dropped his sketchpad in a rush. Gabriel tried to catch him, but he was too quick. He found pad of paper. Gabriel flipped through it. No name of course, but he could see the basis for the graffiti. Gabriel took the notebook and went home.

His phone rang. "Hello, Detective Sgt. Gabriel." He assumed it was work.

"Ooh I was just looking for David."

"Hi Eliza. How are you?" _She called him?_

"I'm fine. I was wondering if you wanted to come to a bridge with me."

"A bridge?"

"Yeah."

"Why not?"

Gabriel got the address and met her there. Eliza was there, pencil and paper in hand. She was smiling from ear to ear.

"What are you up to?"

"The mayor asked me to put something together for the city, and I'm trying to find locations that people pass but never notice."

"You picked under a bridge."

"Yeah. What's that in your hand?"

"Oh this. I found it. A graffiti artist dropped it when he ran away." He showed her the notebook.

"This is really good."

"I know. I saw him painting the wall."

"You saw him, and you watched." She seemed offended.

"What? He was working in public. It was cool."

"It's an underground art form. You can't watch. That's like being a peeping Tom in the artist world."

"Why was he out there at 1PM?"

"I dunno. Maybe no one's there around 1PM. You have to give this back."

"How? He ran away, and he left no name."

She flipped through the book. "Yes he did." She pointed to a symbol of a hawk eating a snake.

"Who is he Prince? That's a symbol, not a name."

"To an artist, it's both. I bet I can find him with this symbol."

"If you do, can you return the book."

"Of course. Now, sketch time."

She showed Gabriel how she worked. She started by surveying the scene and scaling the size of each object. She lightly drew rough shapes, squares, circles, ovals as stand ins for her subject. They came together to form a complex matrix. Once she did that, she refined the sketch, over and over in layers, until a scene emerged. She lightly did some detail work and then got her dark pencil and deeply did the major lines. She used her fingers to blend and ghost the image and before Gabriel's eyes, an image appeared. She took the same, boring underpass that Gabriel saw and made it haunted, menacing, strangely fascinating. "That was amazing."

"That's just the first draft."

"Draft?"

"I will refine this with my charcoal at home."

Gabriel's mouth hung open. He couldn't believe that was just a draft. "So no one ever sees these."

"I hold on to them, but they're just drafts."

"Have you ever thought of repurposing them? Taking them all and putting them together some how."

"Like what, a book."

"Or a mural, or imprinting the image onto something, like a box."

"A box?" She laughed. This sounded rather silly.

"Yeah. A music box, a jewelry box."

"Hmmm!" _Who was this guy trying to give her ideas for her own art_. Why is he interested anyway?

"Are you hungry?"

"I could eat. I know a great chicken and waffles place around here."

"Chicken and Waffles. Are you from the south?"

"No. I'm from San Francisco. Every can appreciate chicken and waffles. Except vegetarians, but they don't count as real people anyway."

Gabriel laughed. "Let's go, then."

Sharon's House

She slept soundly. She had a great night last night. She had forgotten how nice it can be to go out for once. She hugged her pillow.

Rusty snuck in. He had been out half the night with Kyle. Somehow, she didn't seem to notice. _Let's keep it that way_ Rusty thought as he began to make breakfast. Rusty took the bacon and eggs out of the fridge and started to cook. He made some toast and sat down with a plate of food and a glass of juice. _Sharon is usually up by now_. He thought as he ate alone. After breakfast, he put his dishes away and went to knock on her door. "Are you alright in there?" He opened the door. She was sound asleep.

He went back to his room and started his homework.

Andrea's House.

Clothes were all over the floor downstairs. Andrea was sound asleep in her bed. Flynn slipped downstairs and started to poach some eggs. He made english muffins and put butter and sauteed spinach on top.. He even made a hollandaise sauce to go on top of the eggs. He opened the freezer. She had those pre cut hash browns, and he seared some with a little oil. He plated the food and set the table.

He found his boxers, put them on and went back upstairs. "Breakfast is ready," he told her as he gently woke her up.

"Food." She was still sleepy. She eventually got out of bed and threw a housecoat on and went downstairs. "It smells lovely."

They started eating, mostly not talking but smiling at each other. Andrea put on some coffee and got some juice out of the fridge. Flynn grabbed her from behind and started kissing her neck. She turned to him and kissed his lips. She ruffled his hair and went back to eating, she was hungry.

After breakfast, they cleared their plates. "Stay for a while," she said softly as her arms wrapped around him. He kissed her on the head, and they sat in front of the tv. Flynn watched sportscaster to learn about the games the night before, and Andrea rested on his shoulder.

Brenda and Fritz's apartment

Bobby made breakfast. He was in a great mood. Sharon's green eyes stayed in his mind as he made waffles. Bobby wasn't paying too close attention, and he accidentally dropped one. As soon as it hit the floor, Hunter stole it and ran way. She caught a prize. Joel hopped up and followed. He was going to share in the winnings. Bobby made another waffle. He put on a skillet for some scrambled eggs and a pan for some bacon.

Brenda and Fritz were still spooning. Brenda could smell the food and wanted to get up, but she didn't want to leave Fritz's side. When she heard him groan, she turned to face him. "I think breakfast is coming up."

They got dressed and left their bedroom.

"I came home and you all were fast asleep."

They looked at each other and smiled. They knocked themselves out being very active.

Brenda put on some coffee, and Fritz poured the juice. They sat down for breakfast.

"So how was your night, Bobby."

"It was nice. Sharon, Hunter and I went for a run and a moonlight picnic."

"Sharon?" Fritz was confused, surely he didn't mean Captain ….

"You know, Brenda's friend."

"Friend?" Fritz wasn't sure if friend was the right word.

"We're friends, Fritzi."

"The kind that can't stand each other?"

"Everyone has a friend like that," said Bobby. "You know, the people you like but you can only handle them in small doses."

"How did you all meet?"

"Brenda introduced us. I locked myself out the house, and I had to borrow Brenda's key. They were all having lunch somewhere, and I sat down."

"So when will you be seeing her again."

"Oh, Brenda, we just met."

"You're blushing," she teased.

"AM NOT!" Well, now he was bright red.

"Bobby and Sharon sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S …."

"Oh you shut up!" He got even redder. Brenda knew exactly how to get under his skin.

"You kissed her didn't you." Bobby didn't answer; Brenda knew she had him. When's the wedding? I bet Fritz would be glad to give her away."

"What!" Fritz yelled out.

"Oh you shut up! I like her, and don't you go around meddling."

"I won't," Brenda lied, with her fingers crossed behind her back.

"And uncross your fingers."

"They weren't crossed," she lied again. "Oh I'm just teasing. I think it's nice you found someone. You might want to keep it on the DL though."

"Why?"

"Well, if Joyce finds out,"

"Screw her."

"She might try and use it in the divorce. Just make sure you keep your assets separate until it's all over."

"Assets, we just met."

"And who knows how long this divorce will take. You might be in a different place then."

"You think it will take a long time?" Bobby had no interest in staying married to that bitch, even if it was in name only.

"Well, Charlie called. She was worried."

"About what."

"She said Joyce hired a hotshot lawyer, and she's trying to clean you out."

"What! You didn't tell me."

"She just called, and what were you going to be able to do before Monday.

"You don't think Jacob can handle this one."

"I don't. At least, not alone. He's going to need some help, but we're a family. We'll get through is. We always do."

Bobby sighed. He had been having such a good weekend. He did not want to face this now.

Brenda grabbed his hand. "You're going to be just fine. I'll call Jacob on Monday, and see what we can do to help him."

"Thanks Bren."

After breakfast, they clear their plates. Bobby took Hunter out for a walk. Joel slept on the table.

"Were you serious the other day?" Fritz asked Brenda.

"About what?"

"About going to Florida for Thanksgiving."

"Well …." Brenda didn't know what to say. Her daddy missed her and she missed him to. She also didn't remember the last time she spoke to Jr.'s kids. "I think my dad might be expecting us."

"Why would he be expecting us?" Fritz did not like getting ambushed.

"Well, he was upset that we weren't planning on coming down for Christmas, and that Charlie's coming here."

"Charlie's coming here?"

"We didn't tell you. Bobby and I were talking..."

"Brenda."

"Charlie hasn't been here in a while. She hasn't seen her father since Christmas. Please."

"Well alright. Charlie coming is fine, although I wish I had been in the loop. About Florida..."

"We need to get tickets, ASAP and make sure you can take the time off work."

"So we're going."

"Please. It will mean a lot to Daddy, and I am trying to get better about staying in touch with my family."

"Well okay, I'll check the schedule tomorrow, but I am not making any …."

"Oh, you're wonderful. She kissed him and rushed to clear the table."

_I feel like I have been snookered_ Fritz thought as his wife put the dishes in the dishwasher.

Brenda came back and kissed Fritz again. "I'll make the trip worth your while," she hissed into his ear as she fell into his lap. "I'm sure there are plenty of things you want to do to me."

Fritz smiled as he placed his hands on her lower back. "You have no idea."

They kissed and snuggled.


	20. Back to Work

Monday Morning.

Gabriel arrived at work, early like always. He sipped his coffee as he got into the elevator. When he got off on his floor, he overheard an interesting conversation.

"How many noise complaints did she get?"

"At least three on Saturday night."

"What did the cops see when they went out there."

"They didn't go out. They didn't want to visit the home of an FBI agent and a former deputy chief."

Gabriel stopped. He hoped everything was okay with Brenda and Fritz.

"What did the complaints say?""

"They said she was screaming her head off for two hours."

"What was she so mad about, did they say?"

"She wasn't mad at all. It wasn't that kind of screaming."

"You don't mean..."

"Oh yeah, he must have been giving it to her really good because she was going on for hours."

_Snickers_

If David could, he would be blushing right now.

"If I were him, I'd ride her all night long."

"I bet he did."

_Snickers_

David heard footsteps, so he ushered himself to the team room. He sat down and began to catch up on the work he blew off on Friday.

Brenda/Fritz Apartment

Bobby already left for work. He fed Hunter breakfast and took her outside. Fritz also had went to work. He had a meeting with a different DA about the jewelry ring. Apparently, their suspect was a part of a larger crime ring and he wanted a deal.

Brenda was alone, with Joel, as she got ready for work. She rubbed his fuzzy head. Hunter found her way to Brenda's slim legs and brushed across them, tickling her. "Oh are you jealous," she teased as she rubbed Hunter's back. Brenda slipped on her shoes, grabbed her bag and headed for work.

The drive had a lot of traffic. Brenda was running a little late. "Oh for heaven's sake," she grumbled as she went around a slow-poke driver. He honked at her but she sped on by. When she finally got to work, she started walking quickly into the building. She heard snickering and whistling, but she didn't think anything of it.

One of the guys Gabriel overheard saw her and looked her up and down. _I would hit that _he thought as he passed her by.

Brenda didn't even look at the guy. She got to her office and went inside. She set down her bag and went into the team room. "How was your weekend, David?"

He almost jumped out of his seat. "Oh, hi Chief. It was nice."

"Did I scare you?"

"I wasn't expecting you."

"I work here, remember."

"I mean, I was expecting you, today, I just wasn't expecting you that moment."

"Is something wrong?"

"Uhhhh! No." It sounded more like a question than an answer.

"What is it?" Brenda didn't buy his response.

"Can we talk in your office?"

They went inside and closed the door.

Sharon was already at work. She wanted to see Bobby again, but she didn't have his number, and she didn't want to be too pushy. She also didn't want to ask Brenda for her brother's number. _Hey Brenda, I want to fuck your brother, can you send me his number? Kthanxbai._ Not the conversation, she wanted to have.

She sighed and looked at her laptop. She got an e-mail from her daughter.

"Hey Mom, I met someone, and I want you to meet him. I am thinking of bringing him to Christmas."

Love,

Cammie

Even her daughter figured out how to snag a guy. Sharon was out of it. _How did this happen to me?_ She was a good catholic girl. Met a man, fell for him, got married, had kids. He turned out to be a useless drunk, and she had to put him out. She dated since then, but nothing too serious. She had kids to raise, a job to do. _When did I forget about me?_

She closed her laptop, deciding to answer Cammie's e-mail later.

Andrea's House

Andrea woke up alone in her bed this morning. Flynn left after lunch, well he left after a post, lunch blow job. Andrea hopped into the shower. Bite marks were forming on the back of her neck. She was going to have to wear her hair down. She also saw bite marks on her butt and her legs. Andy was quite the chomper. Andrea dried herself off and got ready for work. She got in her car and started to drive.

Flynn's house.

Flynn had scratch marks all over his back. He put on his shirt and got ready to go to work. He actually had time to eat some yogurt and granola before he left. He got to work and Provenza was waiting for him.

"Where was your ass on Saturday?"

"We all watched the game at Fido's and your ass was no where to be seen."

"I had a date," he muttered.

"You what?"

"I had a D-A-T-E."

"You had a date, with who?"

"None of your business." Flynn wasn't sure if Andrea wanted people to know. He was keeping his mouth shut until he knew otherwise.

"What? She's a secret. I wanna know." Provenza was not amused. Who was this woman? Was she a gold digger?

"Too bad," Flynn smirked and got to his desk.

Raydor left her office and came into the murder room. She actually looked like she was in a good mood. Provenza looked at her suspiciously. Was Raydor boinking Flynn? No way! Provenza was suspicious.

_Why is he giving me that look? _Raydor thought, noticing Provenza's glare.

"Anything you would like to say, Lieutenant?"

"No, Captain, not a thing," Provenza seethed.

"Good!"

Tao began his update. "We got data from the TSA. Stroh flew from Mexico to LA on May 20th_._

In a town that was about 20 miles from where Prescott's car was found. There was no record of him flying to Mexico. There's also no record of him bringing in Prescott's car."

"Don't you need a permit to drive your car though Mexico?" Sykes asked.

"Not if you're within the Free Trade Zone, which is where Prescott's car was found."

"I almost forgot, the blood type matched Prescott, but the DNA is still pending."

Flynn was a little sad. He wanted to see more of Andrea at work, and it looked like their work on the Stroh case was done. He looked around. Julio was missing. "Where's Sanchez?"

"He's helping the gang-task force, there was another body dump in the 1-9's territory."

"Again?" Provenza couldn't believe this crap. There were so many murders, he was surprised there was anyone left.

"Not a major crime?" Sykes asked.

"Not until Chief Taylor says it is. He doesn't want to undermine the task-force. They've been working hard on this."

"A nuke would be more effective," Provenza muttered.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," Raydor went on about a string of muggings that were escalating in violence or something but she got an interruption from Buzz.

"Hey Captain. Chief Taylor would like to see you in his office."

Sharon walked past her squad to the elevator. Her skirt hugged her ass nicely. Flynn noticed but he had no designs on the Captain, despite Provenza's suspicions.

Provenza snickered. Tao had no idea what these fools were doing and Sykes as typing away.

Flynn got a text. He slyly answered it under his desk.

"Hey Sexy, I missed having you in my bed last night."

Flynn responded, "I missed your living room floor. : )"

"You smart ass."

"Better than a dumb ass. Are you busy today."

"I have a big meeting today, but after that …."

"I'd love to cook for you."

"It's a date."

Chief Taylor's Office

"Chief Taylor."

"Captain, I wanted to check in with you on the Stroh case."

"We were to piece together a case. She hired Stroh to defend her. She paid him with a fake necklace. He flipped out when the pawn shop told him it was fake, and he put a hole through a jeweler's wall. Prescott's ex gave her 10k shortly before she died, and he was in Vail the weekend she went missing. Stroh argued with Prescott around the time she died. A neighbor heard him in her apartment and after they fought, she was never seen alive again. Stroh then deposited 10k and one of the bills had blood on it. The DNA test is pending but the type matches Prescott's. We also have a record of him flying back from Mexico on May 20th and no record of him going into Mexico."

"How did he get there?"

"He drove Prescott's car, ditched it in the Free Trade Zone, so he wouldn't have to get a permit or show any paperwork and flew home."

"So that's it."

"Yep, it appears so."

A secretary came to the door, "Chief Taylor, Officer Branson would like to see you."

"Captain Branson, he yelled, I'm a Captain."

"Whatever," the secretary muttered.

"I'm busy right now." He knew Branson wanted to complain about the bar fight. Taylor didn't want to hear about it. He didn't want LAPD looking bad from such a stupid incident.

"Are we not done?"

"I just don't want to talk to him," Taylor whispered.

Raydor smiled. "Branson was his buddy. Now, even Taylor can't put up with him."

"Tell me ypu weren't at that stupid bar fight."

"No, but I heard it was a doozy."

"Rumors are already spreading, crud."

"I don't think it's that bad. I don't think anyone else on major crimes knows."

"Can you keep it that way, please?"

"Sure, Chief. Have a nice day." Raydor smiled and went right back to her office. Barnyard fights aren't her problem anymore. She whistled as she walked.

Bobby's Work

Bobby had a lot of work to do. A lot of his crew only spoke Spanish, so he appointed one of his bilingual employees as a coordinator, so he could make sure everyone understood what to do. He borrowed a copy of Rosetta Stone, so he could try and learn some Spanish. He spent the day meeting the bosses, learning procedures, and studying the plans for the projects that were up for bid. There was a lot of work to be done, and not a lot of time to do it."

FBI Office

Fritz got debriefed on this larger crime ring. Apparently, they just bought stuff, replaced it with cheap fakes, kept the originals and sold them on the black market. Fritz wondered why they didn't just sell fake stuff out of vans like everyone else. He took notes, but he didn't see himself having a big role on this case anyway. Their guy would roll, agents would make arrests in other cities and that would be it.

"Will you be able to come to Chicago for a couple of days, Agent Howard?"

"What, why?"

"We were hoping you could help their team understand the scam."

"All right, when would I go?" They wanted Fritz to leave tomorrow and be back on Thursday.

"We know it's an imposition, but..."

"No, I would be glad to. I was actually hoping you could do a favor for me as well. My wife wants us to go to Florida for Thanksgiving and..."

"And you want to see if you can get the weekend off, so you can leave."

"Yeah."

"I think we can work something out."

Fritz let out a sigh of relief. He knew Brenda would be disappointed if they couldn't go, even though she doesn't like Jr's wife at all.

Prosecutor's Office

"What was it you wanted to tell me, Gabriel?"

"I don't know how to say this, it's kind of personal."

"Yes."

"Well, I got to work early this morning, and I overheard these two guys talking."

"You were ease dropping?" Not that Brenda doesn't do that, but Gabriel didn't seem like the nosy type.

"I was going to walk to the office, but they were talking about …." Gabriel really didn't want to tell her this, but

"They were talking about …." This was like puling teeth. Brenda couldn't figure out what his deal was.

"you and Fritz, I mean Agent Howard."

"What did they say?"

"They said that you two got noise complaints on Saturday."

"We didn't get any complaints." No one came buy.

"They said the officers didn't want to go to your house."

"You were afraid to tell me about some noise complaints?"

"Well it's not that there were noise complaints, but the substance of the complaints."

"Go on."

"They said that you guys were well,"David couldn't say it out loud so he just banged his fists together, too loudly, "and the rest was just vulgar gossip."

Brenda sighed. _That's why those stupid boys were snickering all day._ She shook her head. "Well, don't believe everything you hear."

"Yes, Chief."

"But, thank you for letting me know. Now, get back to work."

"Uh, yes Chief." Gabriel got back to his laptop, unsure if he should have said anything at all.

Brenda didn't know what to do about her neighbors, assuming the allegations were even true. I mean she was loud, but noise complaints, that sounded a bit excessive. She texted Fritz "Boo, call me when you're free to talk."

Brenda got to work. She had a stack of files on her desk. Apparently, Hollywood Division was stumped by a string of robberies. There were no signs of forced entry. They suspected someone from EAF- the local security company, was involved, but they couldn't prove it. She started reading through the cases. She came out to the team room and started dictating to Gabriel who wrote on the board. They listed the robberies by date, noting what was stolen, when people got EAF, which agent sold them the policy and when. She also wanted to know who had what items listed in their insurance policies and what information EAF collected from their customers about their possessions. She also wanted to hear from whoever insured EAR and background checks done on EAF's employees. The team split up and got to work, making phone calls, sending e-mails, trying to get as much information as possible.

She got a phone call from Fritzi and retreated to her office to answer it.

"Hi, Baby."

"Hey, you wanted me to call."

Brenda relayed the story she heard from Gabriel. "You don't think it's true do you."

"What's true?"

"The neighbor's complaining."

"I don't know. You were pretty loud, but why now. I imagine if they could hear you they would have been complaining for years now."

"Oh you shush."

"It's not your fault. I'm a very cunning linguist."

"Hah!" she snorted. "No seriously Fritzi, what do we do about this?"

"Other than put a gag in your mouth before sex."

"Fritzi!"

"Relax, Boo. I'll get to the bottom of it, don't you worry. Although, you do look cute with a gag in your mouth."

Brenda sighed. "What will I do with you?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. I got Thanksgiving off, and I'm going to Chicago tomorrow."

"What? Chicago." Brenda heard the bit about Thanksgiving, but she honed in on Chicago.

"It's just for a couple of days. They want me to help set up a team for a new case. I'll be back on Thursday, and this was my way of earning Thanksgiving off."

"Well, alright, you know I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, and your screaming."

"Oh shut up!" Brenda laughed.

"I'll see you at home, Boo."

DA's Office

Andrea met with the DA and a group of various lawyers. She presented their new case on Stroh.

"Is it a good idea to start a new trial from the ground up before we deal with these appeals?"

"This new trial might save us from the appeal. If they see us with a brand new, strong case, they might settle the past cases just to escape a new trial, or they take a deal on this case and roll the dice with the others."

"When will the DNA results be in?"

"Probably another week."

"You didn't rush it."

"That is rushing it. Also, he's not going anywhere."

"So Chief Johnson had nothing to do with this case."

"Not at all. She had already left Major Crimes before Prescott's body was discovered, and she wasn't on the Prescott case when she was alive."

"So that part of the appeal not a problem here."

"So where do we go from here."

Brenda's Office

"Hi I'm looking for Mr. Heller. I am Brenda Leigh Johnson; he was my lawyer about 8 years ago."

"Oh hi, how are you?"

"I'm great. I've remarried."

"No, I don't need your services again, but my brother is getting divorce, and I'm afraid he's going to get thrown under the bus."

"Tell me about it."

Brenda relayed the story about Joyce and the plumber, her "lawyer" cousin, Bobby's out here now.

"So he closed all the joint accounts."

"He paid off the balance, but yes, he didn't want anything joint with her, and he left half of the money in the account."

"She's in the marital home."

"Yes. He doesn't want it. He took his dog, his truck and his stuff."

"All to LA."

"It's either in LA or in Cousin Jacob's basement."

"What do you need from me?"

"Well, according to his daughter, Charlie, Joyce hired a hotshot lawyer who's going to try and bleed him dry and I'm nervous that Jacob will get overwhelmed."

"You want him to have some firepower."

"Yes."

"Well, we'll give him a call and we'll send Bobby a quote."

"Thanks. Bye now."


	21. Dinner a la Flynn

Andrea drove over to Flynn's place after work. He made gnocchi, a homemade pesto, bruschetta and an olive tapenade. Andrea didn't really like olives, but Andy made this delicious. He also wore an apron that said kiss the chef. Andrea pulled him into her arms and gave him a deep kiss.

"I should wear this apron all the time," he chuckled and pinched her butt.

They sat down and ate. "This is fantastic," she praised as she dug in.

"Aren't you glad I have Italian in me. You can have some Italian in you later tonight."

"Oh you pig!" She gently swatted at him.

They chatted about work. They both avoided the topic they wanted to mention, their relationship. were they serious? were they friends with benefits? what to tell people at work?

"Did you make dessert?"

Flynn kissed her on the lips. "Me."

Andrea laughed and kissed him, biting his lower lip. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom. Flynn wanted to take his time with her, unlike Saturday. He kissed her softly and slowly undressed her. Andrea murmured into his ear as his hot breath found her neck. Flynn started to dance about as he tossed away his clothes.

Andrea couldn't stop laughing as he did his strip tease; he was so cute.

Bobby's Work

Bobby had a long day at work. He was tired and needed to go home, take Hunter out for a walk and then get a cold one.. He checked his phone when he got into the car. _Brenda sent me a contact?_ It was Sharon Raydor's cell phone number. To call or not to call.

Someone called him

"Hello," Bobby answered. "Jacob, how are you?"

"I'm alright. I've had better days. Joyce's lawyer is a tough cookie. He sent a demand letter, wanting all kinds of stuff: the house, alimony, a stake in your pension. I tried to talk to him, but he said don't bother him unless we agree.

_Crap_ _my pension too. I better change my address on those forms. _Bobby realized Brenda was right. He needed a tougher lawyer than Cousin Jacob.

"It sounds like you'll need some help on this. Brenda said she knows a divorce lawyer down there. How about you meet with him and work on a counteroffer?"

"That sounds good man. I'll talk to you later."

Bobby realized he had some work to do when he got home. He called his old boss and had his address changed for his pension documents, also he told them to take off Joyce as a beneficiary in case of death. He changed it to Charlie. Bobby also updated his life insurance, again changing it to Charlie. _I'll be damned if that bitch cleans me out._

Bobby grabbed a cold one or two, then he walked Hunter. Then, he stared at his phone. _To call or not to call._

Sharon's House

Sharon pulled into her house and started to make dinner. She poured a glass of white wine to drink while she cooked.

Rusty was in his room, instant messaging Kyle. They chatted back and forth, mostly small talk, both of them hoping it would lead to something else.

Sharon whistled while she cooked, nothing of interest going on. Nothing at all, until

_Ring Ring_

_I hope it's not another body dump_

"Hello, Captain Raydor."

"My bad, I just wanted Sharon."

"Bobby, Hi."

[small talk/meaningless babble]

"I was wondering if you were free on Friday. There's this new steakhouse on..."

"Yes." Sharon was excited. Maybe a little too much. She felt a little embarrassed. _I hope he doesn't think I'm over eager._

"Great. I'll pick you up at 7."

Sharon hung up the phone. She had chills all of the sudden. Somehow the sound of his voice turned her into a giddy teenager. She was glowing as she made her salad, couscous and broiled fish.

Flynn's Place

Flynn kissed Andrea softly. He wanted tonight to last a while. Andrea wanted him there and then. She started biting his neck and his chest. Flynn got control, pinning her to the bed.

"I want to take my time with you." He kissed her gently wrapped his arms around her, his soft kisses slowly traveling from her head, down her neck, across her chest to her arms, to her stomach and then to her inner thighs. His hands traveled up and down the sides of her body as he explored her.

Andrea's skin was getting hotter and hotter. She was going stir-crazy. She sighed as he looked into her spent their time kissing and groping each other. His erection firmly pressing between them. Andy could do this forever, but he knew she might kill him, so he started to hasten his pace.

He started by kissing her breasts and sucking on her nipples. She gasped as his hands worked their way deep inside of her.

"AWWWW OHHHH YEAH" She was nice and wet, ready for him. Flynn slid on a condom, not wanting to have any more children. He slowly made his way inside of her. Andrea's legs instinctively enveloped his hips, her feet resting on his butt. He began to slowly push in and out of her. She moaned and groaned as he took his time. His thrusts were nice and deep. He knew how to get her to moan for him.

He felt so good, but Andrea wanted to get to the finish line. She liked being hot and sweating, cumming all over the place and him pounding her wildly. Andy liked the build up, the process of getting to the goal line. He wanted to gradually build up some milage and Andrea was ready for a sprint. She realized that her way would have to wait. She kissed him, his face, his ears and nibbled on his bottom lip. Her hands found his hair and her teeth found his neck. Her movements were firm but gentle. Flynn had a way of relaxing her.

Andrea arched her back, began to meet his thrusts and gently tapped on him with her foot, wanting him to go faster. Flynn got the hint and picked up his pace. He was still taking his time, but he wasn't taking quite as long.

Andrea loved the feeling of having Flynn on top of her. He loved his body, the way he smelled and the way he moved. She wanted as much of him as possible.

Flynn decided now was the time to really get the show on the road. His thrusts became faster and shallower. Andrea's gasps and groans turned into screams and shouts. "AWWW YES FUCK ME FUCK ME!" Flynn was almost there. He put her ankles on his shoulders, so he could get a deeper angle and he really began to pound her. It wasn't long before she came all over him and he was soon afterwards. He pulled her next to him, and they were spooning.

Brenda and Fritz

Brenda woke up early to take Fritz to the airport. When she got back to the house, Bobby was getting ready to go to work. Brenda tried to send a text to Fritz's phone, so he would see it when he landed. She realized she pushed the wrong button and almost texted Fritz's number to someone. _I can text numbers? _Brenda had an idea. She texted Bobby Sharon's number. _No meddling_ _my ass_.

She rubbed Hunter's belly, and she lied on the couch. She didn't have enough time to go back to sleep, but she didn't need to start getting ready just yet.

Fritz got through security quickly, having an FBI badge helps. He boarded the plane and sat down. He planned on napping the whole time. To his chagrin, he was seated next to a curious little boy, who wanted to chat about everything, visiting his father, dinosaurs, trucks. Fritz wasn't going to be getting any sleep for a while.

Andrea and Flynn

Andrea fell asleep in Flynn's bed that night, which was comprised of sex, a Dodgers preview for their next game and lots of cuddling.

She woke up with nothing to wear for work the next day. She kissed Andy on the forehead and put on her Monday's clothes. She got ready for her drive of shame home. Flynn woke up with a smile on his face. He got in the shower and got dressed for work. He made a breakfast sandwich, ate and was out the door.

Andrea got home to with just enough time to shower and change before she got to work. Her neighbor noticed her coming home in the same clothes she wore the day before. _She must either be working too much or she's got a boy-toy _her neighbor thought as she drank her morning coffee.

Brenda rested for too long and had to get going. She got dressed and was out the door. She stopped at a nearby bagel shop to buy breakfast. Her phone rang.

_Hello_

Hey Andrea what's up?

Where are you.

I'm currently getting breakfast, want me to pick you up something?

Yes! Bagel w/ lox and capers please, and a coffee.

Got it. See you soon.

Brenda bought the food and coffees and was on her way. When she pulled out of her spot, she almost hit the car behind her, reminiscent of the time she hit a car behind her backing out on the way to a double homicide, but this time there was no coffee on the back of her windshield. The other driver honked at her.

_Oh for heavens sake_ "How am I supposed to get out of the space if you're trying to pull into it?"

Brenda left and was on her way to work. When she got there, there was more whistling and smirks from the "men." She rolled her eyes and made her way to Andrea's office. _Knock_

"Come in."

Brenda walked in.

"Thank god, I'm starved."

Brenda tossed Andrea her breakfast and set her coffee on the desk. Brenda sat down and slowly unwrapped her food. Andrea dove right in.

Brenda laughed. "Have you not eaten in a while?"

"I ate dinner last night, and it was really good, but …." Andrea wasn't sure if she should continue.

"But what?"

"I expended … a lot of energy last night"

"What does that mean? Oh! Did you and you-know-who?" Brenda bumped her knuckles together.

"Several times." Andrea smiled.

"Do spill."

Andrea recounted her previous night, well the PG-13 version. Brenda ate and listened attentively. She and Fritz didn't get to have nearly as much fun last night. He spent most of the night preparing for his trip, and Brenda was on Skype talking to Charlie. When Brenda's watch slipped, Andrea noticed a slight mark.

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"On your wrist."

"Oh! Brenda blushed and giggled. Well..."

"Well..." There was a bit of silence. "What?"

"Fritz and I had fun on Saturday."

"Fun?"

"Yeah."

"That's it. I told you about my night."

"Oh Fine." Brenda told Andrea about how Fritz had tied her to the bedposts.

"Did it hurt?"

"No. He used silk rope." Brenda explained. She went on to explain how he had his way with her. She left out the cucumber activity and the back door play. She didn't want them to appear like total weirdos.

"Did you like it?" Andrea was intrigued. She had never done anything like that

"I loved it." Brenda blushed a little more. "It was freeing."

"Freeing?" That sounded odd to Andrea.

"You have no choice but to let everything go: any shyness, anxiety, it all floats away."

_I wonder if Andy would tie me up. _Andrea imagined herself strapped to Flynn's bed. "I could get used to that," Andrea said to herself, not realizing she said it out loud.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing?" Andrea lied.

_Knock_

"Come in," Andrea answered.

A man walked in. "The AG's rep is here to go over the plea deal for …."

"I got to get to work." Brenda was off. Andrea went to the conference room.

Brenda strolled into the team room. Gabriel was organizing a chart on the board.

"We have a new case, Chief?"

"We do? What's going on? Why didn't you call me?"

"I was going to, but I figured you were on your way already. There's no crime scene to visit."

"No crime scene?"

"Well. There was a shoving match between Branson and some traffic cop by the water cooler yesterday."

"We're investigating two officers for being immature." Brenda was not amused.

"No. They both got called into Taylor's office and were told to chill or be reprimanded. The problem is there is an allegation that Branson is abusive with other officers."

"How so?"

"Allegedly, he will invite subordinates out to lunch and leave them with the bill. If they ask him to pay them back later, he 'suggests' that they don't bring it up again if they don't want to find themselves on desk duty. He's been known to add drinks to others tabs. Etc."

"Why not just dock his pay to reimburse these people?"

"That requires a court finding, which means someone would have to sue him or file a complaint and most of FID is scared of him and won't talk unless its anonymous."

"Do we have anything to go on?"

"Well on Saturday, he saw a subordinate officer out with her partner, and he said something derogatory to them. The officer wouldn't talk but her girlfriend called in a complaint."

"Why isn't Internal Affairs doing this? There's more to them then just FID."

"Taylor doesn't want them on the case. He suspects that this is just a part of a systemic problem with Internal Affairs. They're insular. They usually answer to federal regulators who are too swamped to deal with them, so they get out of line."

"By hazing and harassing subordinates who have no one to go to."

"Exactly, IA isn't popular. Most of the officers don't have friends on the outside to help them."

Brenda sighed. She didn't like this at all.

"How to we reach victims who won't talk to us?" Jackie asked.

"That's a good question." Brenda stopped for a minute and thought. "These people, officers, may not have many friends in the department, but they might have someone they confide in, an officer who lives nearby or shares a similar cultural background, alma mater, greek organization."

"Sexual orientation," Jackie added.

"What?"

"Well, there's a support/social group for the LGBT officers, and if one of the victims is a lesbian, maybe she confides in other lesbians in the group. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out which officer she is, and if we can get her to talk, maybe the others will too."

"Why not just ask her partner?"

"Her partner wouldn't say her name because she didn't want her to get upset." Gabriel added, "they might not be willing to put their names on a complaint alone, but if we can get all of these officers in a group, maybe they'll see they're not alone, and they will file a complaint against Branson.

"It might look like a conspiracy," Tommy added. "If they all complain at once, Branson will claim collusion."

"He's right," Brenda added. "We need to find a way to let them know they're not alone, but avoid making this look like a setup, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't need to worry about that until someone is ready to talk to us."

"Mikki likes you," Gabriel said.

"What?" Brenda blushed a little. She noticed the woman looking her up and down on a case once, but she's a married woman for heaven's sake and too old for Mikki anyway.

"She might be able to help you figure out where to start."

"You're right. I'll see if she can help. I want you all to take the organization chart from Branson and see if you can match the anonymous complaints to a person. We don't have much to go on now, but its likely that the younger officers and the lower ranking ones are the complainants, which means we should also be looking at the older/higher ranking officers as well. If Taylor is right and this is a systemic problem, then they might have either gone through this in the past or they could be contributing to the problem now, or both."


	22. Internal Affairs

Brenda gave Mendoza a call.

"Hi Mikki. I was wondering if you had some time today, so we could talk. I have a case, and I was hoping that you would be able to help me out. It's of a confidential nature."

"Sure thing, Chief. When do you want me to stop by?"

"Are you free for lunch?"

Mikki, liked the sound of lunch with Brenda; she's easy going on the eyes. "Yes."

"I'll pick something up. 12:30 work."

"See you then, Chief."

Brenda ordered lunch to be brought to the office for herself, Mikki and the team. This was not going to be an easy case and she wanted her team fed. There was no violence, but being an officer is hard enough. The last thing you need are the people you're supposed to trust with your life making it harder. If you can't trust your fellow officer, how can the public? Brenda hated cops who gave the others a bad name, and she wanted them to be exposed.

Brenda's team started making profiles of their younger officers. "Are these all of the current ones?"

"Yes."

"What about ones who transferred since Branson replaced Raydor? We should add them to the list. They might have found a new division instead of filing a complaint."

"I'll figure out who they are," Gabriel answered.

Brenda started going through the officers. She thought about who was most likely to be bullied, the ones who came from less affluent backgrounds, overweight, single, weren't as involved in the officers' extra-curricular activities. Brenda separated a stack of officers who fit her profile. "We should start here." Brenda handed Tommy the file. Jackie came back with full reports and they started using the process of elimination, who joined after a complaint was filed, who left before the incident had allegedly occurred, who was on vacation when, etc. Luckily, FID wasn't that large of a division.

Lunch arrived and so did Mikki. They went into Brenda's office.

"Thank you for coming."

"No problem." Mikki smiled. Brenda looked great today. She was wearing a new suit with a hip-hugging skirt and nice pump to finish off the outfit. Mikki didn't mind it at all.

"The reason I asked you hear is a sensitive one and …."

"Your secret is safe with me, Chief."

"Oh! You can call me Brenda. There are allegations that Branson has been inappropriate with his subordinate officers, taking advantage of them financially, making thinly veiled threats if they complain about it, and most recently, he mistreated an officer and her girlfriend at a restaurant."

"Her girlfriend?"

"Yes. None of the officers would give their names because they are afraid of retribution. We can't help them unless we know who they are, and I thought that …." Brenda didn't know how to say it. It now seemed presumptuous for her to assume that of course all of the LAPD lesbians know each other.

"All of the LAPD lesbians know each other."

"Well," Brenda blushed. "Yeah."

"Well we do," Mikki laughed. It was fun to bust Brenda's balls. "If he was nasty to her and her girlfriend, I'll hear all about it. A bunch of us are having dinner at Tammi's house on Thursday. I could figure out who he insulted, but I don't know if I could get her to talk publicly."

"If you could just tell her that she's not alone. That several officers have complained about his conduct and we are not going to let this get swept under the rug..."

"You're hoping if one comes forward, they all will."

"Yes. We're trying to figure out who everyone else is and make a solid case. If they see that this won't get swept under the rug, then maybe they'll come forward."

"Well, I can try, but I make no promises."

"Thanks, Mikki."

Brenda rejoined her team and Mikki went back to work.

"How was lunch?" Gabriel teased.

"Oh you hush!" Brenda turned a little red.

"What have we learned?"

Tommy started. "There have been 4 officers that transferred out of FID. One of them went to Hollywood, so he could move to a place that was closer to his kids. The other three left without any explanation. Raydor wrote their recommendations."

"They wanted to keep their transfers from Branson."

"It appears so."

Brenda had another call to make. "Anything else."

Gabriel added, "We know who Branson's goons are. They were at the bar last week."

"Oh Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, let's look at their service records and find out if they've been written up before or have had any allegations filed."

Jackie snickered.

"Also," Chief continued. "Let's see if their former partners were talk to us. Every jerk starts somewhere."

"I wonder where Provenza got his start."

"He was born that way," Brenda laughed. She liked the old coot. _Maybe he knows about these people. He knows all the gossip as does Flynn._

"Keep it up." Brenda retreated to her office. She made a phone call. "Hi, Sharon."

_Why is she calling me?_ Sharon thought. _Hopefully, this isn't about Bobby. I can't talk to his sister about him._ "Hi Brenda. What can I do for you?"

"Thank you for asking. I was wondering if you could spare some time to talk to me about former insubordinates of yours."

"Former?"

"I have an investigation over a sensitive issue, and I need some background information."

"Sensitive issue?"

"Yes. I have an unusual case."

_I wonder what is this all about_. "Well you can stop by now if you want."

"See you in 20." Brenda got in her car and headed out.

As soon as she left, Taylor called the team room.

"Hi Chief Taylor. Chief Johnson just headed for LAPD. She's meeting Captain Raydor to try and get some insight into the case."

"She's on her way here. I'll see if I can talk to her before she leaves. Thanks Gabriel."

_Chief will not be happy with me_ Gabriel thought. He decided not to worry about and text Eliza.

"How's your day going?" he sent. He didn't want to rush things with her. He just wanted her to know that he thinks about her. How to separate the two, who da fuck knows?

Major Crimes

Flynn and Provenza were at work telling dick jokes. Sanchez was cracking up. Sykes rolled her eyes and Tao was pretending to work but was secretly IM-ing the better jokes to his wife. She sent back some of her own jokes in Japanese. They were funny, but they didn't translate well into English. They had a lot of cultural implications that would get lost in the US.

Sharon came out of her office. "Whatever you are all doing right now?"

Taylor came down to Major Crimes. "I hear Chief Johnson's on her way here."

"She is!" The squad couldn't help but miss their southern belle.

"Yes. She wants to talk to me."

"And not me?" Flynn was a little offended. He's more fun than the Captain.

"Could you send her my way afterwards?"

"Sure, Chief Taylor."

"What is this bizarro world?" Provenza muttered.

"What was that Lieutenant?"

"Cough stuck in my throat."

"That's what I thought." Taylor went back to his office.

Flynn and Provenza looked at each other. This sounded like trouble.

"Whatever you are thinking, Lieutenants. Stop it now." Raydor did not need whatever foolishness these two were about to get into.

Brenda appeared. She got a resounding, "Hi, Chief" from her former team.

Well hello everyone. Sanchez, I hear your sister it now an executive Chef at La Tortuga, congratulation. Tao, send Kevin my congratulations about Stanford. Flynn and Provenza, I heard you have been staying out of trouble. I'm a little disappointed." Everyone laughed.

"Chief," Sharon interrupted.

"Oh, yes Captain." They went into her office, Brenda's former office and shut the door.

"So what's this about a sensitive investigation, and why is Taylor so interested?"

"Taylor?"

"He was just here, and wanted to speak to you after this."

"How did he know I was here?"

"I don't know. I'm not his brain."

"Well, where do I start." Brenda relayed the anonymous complaints that Branson has been getting.

"And you can't recommend anything without knowing who is complaining and without their testimony."

"Exactly."

"How do I figure in on this? I never worked with him."

"No, but 3 officers sought to transfer after you left, and you wrote recommendations for them."

"And?"

"And, they didn't ask Branson to write the recommendation."

"They worked for me longer. I would give a better recommendation."

"But most new supervisors would write a recommendation anyway and would note what your past reports on them would say."

"I recall your whole team sought transfers, and you threw them all in the garbage."

"I did that twice actually, but that's not the point. These officers didn't want Branson to know they were leaving. Maybe they feared retaliation."

"Why would they?"

"If he's been bullying officers, then they had a reason to flee and a reason to fear him. They didn't want to see his reaction when they asked him for a transfer, so they didn't ask. They just asked you."

"That's what you think happened."

"It's my best guess, and you wouldn't be so stubborn if I wasn't right."

"Oh! Really?"

"Yes. If they just left, then you would have said something like, oh! They wanted to move on to x opportunity, and they didn't know Branson that well. You weren't very forthcoming about what they told you when they asked you to write their recommendation."

"And?"

"Which implies that they told you something? Look, Sharon. I get that your loyal to your old team. It's admirable really it is, but if Branson mistreated them, then he will keep mistreating other officers until he is stopped. If officers are doing this kind of stuff to each other, who knows what they are doing to the public."

"I'm surprised to see you investigating officer misconduct."

"Shootings are one thing. If a cop shoots a thug, good riddance, but I have zero tolerance for bullies. They have no business here."

"I'm glad to see some rules matter to you."

Brenda gave her a stank look.

"Well, they didn't tell me why they wanted to transfer, but they all transferred around the same time. They said they wanted to go on to new opportunities, but they didn't take the most interesting jobs. One of them is doing vehicle inventory searches, one went to traffic, one is doing neighborhood watch. They also sounded nervous when they asked me for recommendations and were wondering when Branson would find out. I thought it was a little odd, but I hear he's a jerk. I assumed they just didn't like them. Why isn't IA taking this case?"

"Taylor didn't trust them. He thinks this is a part of a larger problem."

"But Branson was his guy."

"That's what confuses me. I don't know what to think of this. Do you still keep in touch with your old team?"

"Occasionally why?"

"Would you know, who if any of them, might talk to me about this? I am not expecting them to be the most forthcoming."

Sharon thought for a minute. "Sam McDonald. Buy him two stiff drinks, and he'll spill the beans, not that I am recommending interviewing a drunk officer."

"Of course not, Captain. Thank you for your help."

"Flynn, Provenza, would I be able to talk to you after I meet with Taylor."

"I dunno Chief. We might be causing trouble." Flynn chuckled.

"Not on my watch," said the Captain.

Flynn smirked. He could be bad still.

"We'll be here, doing nothing interesting," muttered Provenza.

"Great." Brenda went upstairs.

"Chief Taylor."

"Chief Johnson, thank you for coming."

"I am a little confused. I thought Officer Branson was your friend, but you asked me to investigate him."

"Our relationship is complicated."

WTF does that mean? Brenda thought to herself.

"Chief Pope wanted me to appoint him. He wanted the job. No one else really did. No one in Raydor's division had the requisite experience. We have golfed a couple of times, but …." _Taylor liked it when people liked him. He didn't always like them back._

Brenda understood what Taylor meant. Everyone had a "friend" like Branson at one point.

"How am I supposed to investigate if I have a bunch of no-names? I can't just walk in there and ask, hey who has a beef with Branson?"

"I couldn't get HR to roll. If people don't feel safe talking to HR, then no one will, and they're like lawyers, can't get a peep out of them."

"So, assuming I can find out who these officers are and they are actually willing to talk to me, then what? What if they refuse to file."

"If I can figure out who they are, then I can offer them protection, a transfer, anything I need to get them to come forward. I can't protect no names."

"So my job is to get their names."

"That's a start. If you could get them to talk to me, that would be better and if you could get them to file an official complaint, that would be best."

_So you want me to do your work for you?_ "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Chief Johnson. I know this goes without saying, but …."

"My lips are sealed."

Brenda went back to Major Crimes to steal Flynn and Provenza. Provenza was doing his best Sykes impersonation and Flynn was pretending to be Captain Raydor.

"Lieutenants Provenza and Flynn."

They froze at the sound of their Chief bellowing their names.

"With me, please!"

They were off.

"Where to, Chief?" Provenza knew she played no games.

"How about ice cream cones?"

"You're hauling us out of work for ice cream." Flynn was happy to go, but confused.

"Well, ice cream is the start." They got into Brenda's car, and she drove them to grab some cones. They took a walk towards the park. "I wanted to talk to you all, and I didn't want anyone to overhear me, so I thought this would work."

"007 is back," Provenza was wondering if this was more CIA stuff.

"There have been anonymous complaints about Branson from members of his division."

"No surprise there, Chief. He's such an ass he makes Taylor look like the Virgin Mary." Flynn laughed.

"Well, there's a concern that not only is Branson a bully but that this is apart of a larger problem in IA, that they have been mistreating officers, and these officers are either less able or less willing to put their best foot forward in IA investigations, and you all know what it's like to be on the wrong side of one."

"So Pope wants this guy out."

"Well, Taylor wants to get to the bottom of this."

"Taylor, sending a friend under the bus. I don't believe it." This sounded too familiar to Flynn.

"You have both been here a long time and are friends with a lot of guys on the force. I was hoping that you either knew something about what is really going on behind the scenes of IA or you would know who would know."

"Jake McCallister is a gossip queen," Flynn started "He knows everything about everybody. If there's a culture of thuggery in IA, he knows about it."

"He takes Scotch as payment or women." Provenza added. "Also, Betty's a secretary who handles FID paperwork. She's a chatterbox who talks to everyone."

"Thanks, I knew you guys would be helpful."

"Free ice cream. Well of course." Provenza saw a pretty lady walking her dog down the street. "Mrs. Provenza number 5," he declared.

Brenda and Flynn looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Maybe in 20 years," Brenda answered, laughing the whole time.

Brenda dropped off Flynn and Provenza and went back to work. She sent e-mails Sam and Jake, introducing herself and asking if they would be able to help her with a case, not mentioning what it was about.

She got a response from Jake right away. "Do you need me to stop by your office?"

She answered. "That would be great if you could spare the time."

He said he'd be over tomorrow afternoon, 4PM.

Brenda knocked on Andrea's office door. "What do you know about mid-range Scotch?"


	23. Anticipation

Bobby sat home alone in his bed. Hunter slept on the floor by the couch and Joel was on the couch. It had been a while since he had any type of release. He had just taken a shower. His hair was toweled dry, and his teeth recently brushed, the flavor of mint hanging on his tongue He got on the bed and closed his eyes.

He remembered the beach from Saturday: the smell of salty ocean water, the cold air, the way Sharon looked that night. It was dark but it wasn't too hard to make out the curves of her luscious body in her running clothes. He imagined her naked, her breasts exposed, soft curves going from them to her hips, her shapely legs and what lied within them. He wondered if her nipples were pink or brown. He imagined them pink, and he thought about how nice it would to pinch one.

Bobby's erection grew harder, and he added some lube to it. His hand gently wrapped around it and began to stroke. He grunted as his mind wandered away from his body. He imagined himself in Sharon's bed. He bet she had a nice bead, quality oak, comfortable mattress and sheets, which would be on the floor at that point. He imagined her ankles on his shoulders, and his eyes lined up with hers as he thrusted in her. His hips started to leave the bed as his body began to twitch a little. He wanted her, really badly.

His dick was throbbing at this point. His hand sped up as his forehead began to sweat. The cool air did nothing as his skin was heating up and his body, ached for a release. He started to grunt and growl as he got closer. He imagined her whispering into his ear as he thrusted in her. He couldn't see her screaming readily, but he would learn how to please her. He would find every sensitive spot and touch it gingerly until she was ready. She would scream his name and beg for more.

Bobby was an athlete in college and a natural performer. He loved scoring touchdowns and he loved to score between the sheets. It wasn't about numbers, well not only about numbers. He really loved to be lauded for his performances. There was no better sound than a woman screaming his name in ecstasy as he drove her over the edge and made her cum uncontrollably. Once he figured out what made a woman tick, he couldn't be stopped. He was like an Orgasm Monster and he was only satisfied when she was covered in sweat, hair a mess, and exhausted from the throngs of pleasure that he gave her. He imagined Sharon this way, cheeks flushed, perfect hair all over the place, and her out of breath. Sharon was different somehow. He didn't want to fuck her and bounce. He wanted to fuck her and then snuggle with her gently.

The thought of her cumming for him was enough to drive Bobby over the edge. He shot his load all over his sheets, and now he needed to change them.

Sharon's house.

She had taken a bath with a glass of wine. She needed to relax after her day. Work was uneventful for the most part, but Bobby wouldn't leave her thoughts: his smile, laugh, his lips were so soft, he smelled good, he looked amazing, and Sharon was sure he was dynamite in bed. She didn't want to rush this. It had been a long time since she had been so excited about a man, and she didn't want to screw it up. She was a little out of it and was hoping he wouldn't be disappointed with her in bed. The thought of sex with Bobby really got her going. She closed her eyes and pinched her nipples while she was in the tub. The wine relaxed her as her fantasy took over.

She imagined herself at the beach again, but this time she and Bobby were all alone. The kiss led to more. He pinned her to the blanked, his lips on top of her, his tongue ravishing her mouth. Sharon's hands found his hair as he warmed up her body with his. She imagined Bobby unzipping her jacket and tossing it aside. He kissed her neck and shoulders. Sharon's body starts to tense up with anticipation.

"Relax," he whispers into her ear as he undresses her slowly. He pulls off his clothes to match and he pulls another blanket on top of them to protect her from the cool air. She gasps as the combination of hot and cold overwhelm her body. His mouth plays with her breasts teasingly and makes her moan for him. His hands and lips explore her body, probing her wet pussy but not giving her what she wants. He's too reserved to jump in. He slowly pushes himself into her, the sensation causing her to moan loudly.

Sharon has now moved to her bed. Her fingers start probing her wetness as she fantasizes

His hips rock gently but deliberately, eliciting gasps and moans as Sharon nibbles on his ear. Bobby rubs her back affectionately as he slowly picks up the pace. He kisses her neck and shoulders and murmurs into her ear. Sharon looks at the moon. It's full and bright and inspires lust in her as she gazes into it. Sharon's hips rise to meet Bobby's thrusts.

Sharon's body is aching for him. Her finger plunge into her body, and she begins to finger herself vigorously

Sharon's lips find Bobby's and they kiss passionately as he controls her body. His hands find her ass and begin to grope it. The feeling sends chills down her spine. Bobby pulls her into him and resumes his thrusts. She is ready to cum for him.

Sharon digs a vibrator out of her drawer, and it reaches her clit. She turns it on and grunts loudly. "Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" She moans as she imagines Bobby pounding her on the beach.

Sharon cums all over the blanket. Bobby is soon to follow. He fills her with his seed and rolls over of her. They lie side by side watching the moon, basking in its rays, and their bliss.

Sharon cums all over her sheets. "Fuck!" She thought. Now, she had to change them.


	24. Time Spent Apart

Fritz walked into the Chicago office. It was weird being in his old stomping ground. He hadn't returned since his move to LA over a decade ago, and they had changed the place: different layout, different colors on the walls.

"Long time no see."

Fritz looked up. It was Krenshaw, his old partner from back in the day.

"No way." They shake hands. "How have you been?"

"Same old me. Same stupid criminals. New sycophants for bosses."

They went to grab coffee. "I have a new girl." Krenshaw would never be a one-woman man. He got bored after 3 months and was ready to move on. He had a fair share of angry exes who hated his guts.

"What's this victim's name?"

Krenshaw rolled his eyes. "Her name is Amanda, and she's a classically trained dancer."

"I didn't know they classically trained pole dancers."

"Very funny. She is a ballerina."

"So she's young enough to be your daughter."

"You are still cynical. You're going to be alone for life with that attitude."

"I remarried."

"Again. Didn't you learn your lesson the first time. Who's Cindy version 2.0?"

"I married Brenda."

"Just Brenda?"

"You know Brenda..."

Krenshaw gave him a blank stare.

"Brenda Leigh Johnson, worked for the Agency, from Atlanta."

Krenshaw was still oblivious.

"You always called her Blondie, and she never liked you."

"Oh! You married Blondie. You were hung up on her for forever. Wasn't she screwing her married boss?"

Fritz rolled his eyes. _That's how he remembers her?_ "I was not hung up on her." He couldn't deny the other part.

"Sure you weren't. I bet you tied the knot first chance you got."

"Did not."

"How long did it take between when you met her again, and you remarried?"

"It was over three years."

"And how long did it take for you to date her once you found her."

Fritz stopped for a minute. He wasn't sure when they started dating, was that their first dinner? Their first kiss? Their first fuck?"

"Define dating?"

"So three days."

"More like a week."

"Damn. Can't say I'm surprised. You would have chased her until the end of time."

_Fritz couldn't argue that_.

"So what brings you here."

"I'm working on catching a crime ring. They buy goods return them with cheap fakes and sell them on ebay/craigslist etc."

"Why not sell the fakes?"

"The fakes aren't very good. They put them back in the box, so it seems like the original item is being returned. They bank on the employee not checking on the spot. It seems to work."

"You don't say. Well I won't keep you too long. Want to grab a drink tonight?"

"I'll come out, but I don't drink anymore."

"You too! Everyone joined AA. Everyone. Gino's 8PM, be there."

Fritz headed into the office. He didn't really know why they needed him.

Atlanta, GA (about a week ago)

The plumber was long gone. Joyce now settled down with an entrepreneur. He was off wining and dining investors and Joyce met with her lawyer.

Mr. Kensington, "So what do you want out of this divorce."

"Everything."

"What all is there?" Mr. Kensington knew this was going to be a tough case.

"A house. His pension, his 401K, I think we have a timeshare in Bermuda or something, and a vacation house in South Carolina."

"I take it you prefer the main house."

"I prefer them both, and I want alimony."

_What is this guy a tycoon?_ "What does he do for a living?"

"Construction."

Kensington tried not to laugh. "You think you can get two houses and alimony from a man who work construction. Courts take into account present assets and income. They want to keep you at the same quality of life until you can make other arrangements. It doesn't sound like he makes that much and you're young enough to work."

"I'm not working, non-negotiable. Can you get it done or not?"

"I'll send a settlement proposal." _That no idiot would ever accept._

"Very well. Don't call me unless you have good news."

With that she was gone.

"I don't blame that guy for leaving."

Kensington drafted a letter, requesting the house, alimony and a share of the pension fund and either ½ the proceeds from the sale of the vacation house or for him to buy out her half. He signed his name and filed it. _Now to figure out who represents Mr. Johnson_

Present time LA

Brenda had forgotten about the EAF case. She reviewed the files. Their head agent had no record himself, but his brother had two fraud convictions. She advised Hollywood to pick up the brother, give him a lecture on the 3rd strikes law, casually mention the robberies and let him go. Then, watch and see what happens.

She got back to her current case. She had a meeting with Jake tonight, and she was supposed to talk to Sam the next day.

How about Betty? Brenda sent Tommy to ask her some questions casually, see if he could get her chatting about FID. It didn't take Brenda long to see that Betty liked to look at Tommy, so she left him to it.

Major Crimes

Sharon finally got around to e-mailing her daughter. "Great, can't wait to see you honey?" She started to drink her tea when she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in."

It was Sykes. "Wasn't yesterday weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"Brenda shows up out of nowhere like she owns the place, steals Flynn and Provenza and they just resume working like nothing happened."

"And?"

"And aren't you going to do something about it?"

"Like what?"

Sykes just sat there.

"This is my squad now. I have it under control."

Sykes left it at that.

Atlanta, GA 3 days ago

Cousin Jacob got the letter and almost pissed his pants laughing. He checked the list against the assets that Bobby had listed. There was no vacation house. Jacob looked up the title records in South Carolina, using the online database. They had sold the home to a rental agency over a year ago. He added up all of their assets, 1 house, two cars, 1 pension, 2 401ks, personal effects and equipment. It sounded fair to Jacob for Bobby to get his truck, personal effects/equipment, and sole possession of his 401k and pension. She doesn't work, but she is getting the whole house without any mortgage. She can sell it or rent it out.

Jacob called Bobby to consider a counteroffer. If they could get a deal, they could get it approved by a judge and skip the trial phase.

LA Present Day

Andrea didn't know what the future held in store for her and Flynn. She sat at her desk, preparing a set of plea offers. Most of her cases were deals now a days. She kind of missed going to trial.

She sipped her tea as she worked on her paperwork.

She got a text. "I missed you yesterday."

"I missed you, too." She always wanted to wake up next to him. _This is way too fast _she thought to herself.

Flynn was having his kids over for dinner on Friday. He wanted to introduce them to Andrea, but he was afraid he would screw things up for all involved. He finally was on good ground with his kids. He was afraid they might react badly to him dating a younger woman. He also didn't want to scare Andrea away by moving too fast.

Provenza noticed that Flynn texted a lot more lately. Sharon spent more time alone in her office. Were they star-crossed lovers hiding on opposite sides of the door? How ridiculous.

Provenza was bored in the office. He went to go bother Buzz who was on the phone with his sister Casey.

Chicago

Fritz presented the results of his investigation to the Chicago team. He also reported on what his suspect had admitted thus far; a deal was still pending. The team added Fritz's information to their chart. The Chicago team had a lot more suspects but little understanding as to how the enterprise worked. Since Fritz resolved one hub, they would be able to use his information to sort out what they had. They got to work.

Krenshaw thought back to his times in DC. He couldn't believe Fritz married Blondie. She was cute but her mouth was too big. She just ran it all day long, not that he minded a woman with a large mouth, so long as she used it adequately. Krenshaw was also more into ruler type women.

LA

Tommy chatted up Betty. She told him that Branson had a reputation for hitting on other officers' wives in front of them. He apparently suggested to one he'd give her $50 for a blowjob. He also liked to hit on all of the secretaries. None of them appreciated it. Rumor had it he'd also steal people's lunch out the fridge, off their desk, he ate one guys sandwich in front of him.

Tommy reported back to the team. Jackie found one of the guys who transferred out. He didn't want to talk, but he admitted that if Branson hadn't been the boss, he likely would have stayed. His main problem was with with Branson's goons. He tried to talk to Branson about their behavior, but things just got worse. One day, he came to his car after work and it wouldn't start. He had to have it towed and his spark plugs were missing. The next day, he got a coffee and when he came back, the spark plugs were in the cup. He didn't see them do it, but …. After that, he decided to transfer.

Gabriel came back. He approached another officer about her transfer. He mentioned Branson and she started crying, so he left her with his card. "Whatever happened to her had to be ugly?"

Brenda shook her head. Now, she wanted to really wallop him. She told her team to keep it up and try and stay discreet.

A tan man with dark hair came into the office. "I'm looking for Chief Johnson."

"Jake, Thanks for coming. You can call me Brenda." She shook his hand and ushered him into her office.

Her team looked at each other quizzically.

"What can I do you for?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me about Branson, about how he runs FID."

"Branson's an ass and nobody likes him unless they're ass-kissers."

"I've noticed that, but I was wondering if you knew about the team dynamics."

"Why don't you ask his team?"

"He's under investigation, and if I ask them directly without anything to go on..."

"He'll know in a heartbeat, scare everyone into silence and poof."

"Pretty much." Brenda took out the bottle of Scotch and left it on her desk.

"I can see Provenza told you about me. Good man." Brenda poured him a glass.

"Well, from what I gather Branson is a type-A bully. He does whatever he wants to do to people who can't fight back, officers facing a force investigation, subordinates who have little seniority, etc. He's the guy who will drink your beer right in front of you, but write you up if you punch him for it. The short-tempered get suspended, the wise get lost and the fearful cower. He has too thugs, Byron and Mac who are his enforcers. They show up late, boss everyone around, get overtime they don't deserve. I would take a good look at their time sheets. Sandy asked them about one that didn't add up. I don't know what Branson said or did to her, but she never asked about timecards again, to anyone, ever."

Brenda wrote down Sandy's information. "Do you know anything about Byron and Mac?"

"Byron allegedly abducted a girl in college."

"WHAT!"

"He said it was a frat prank. Allegedly, he grabbed a girl, tied her to a tree and left her there for hours. She got really messed up, afraid and stuff. He didn't touch her, well you know where, but he messed with her mind. Normally, a guy like that gets expelled from school, but his parents hired a fancy lawyer, bought her off and donated a bunch of money to the school."

Brenda sighed.

"Mac has no such history. He just seems like a lackey, will go where Byron goes. I don't see how this helps you." Jake poured another glass. "Everyone knows he a jerkface, but anyone who isn't scared of him isn't going to be around him in the first place. What do a bunch of stories with no names accomplish?"

"You've been a great help. The easiest way to catch a bad guy is to understand his pathology, figure out who he is and what makes him tick. The more I learn about his cronies, the more easily I can dismantle him."

"And I told you something that is that useful."

"Yes, you did."

"You spend a lot of time getting into people's minds. Every try and get into mine?"

"I have a feeling you've seen and gone through too much in your life. My head might explode."

"Smart lady." He poured himself some more Scotch.

Thursday - 3AM

A murder came up for Major Crimes. The gang was all hauled out of bed to get to the crime scene. They got there and a woman was dead on the side of the road.

"Why is this a major crime?" Provenza asked, unhappy about being awake at this hour, well awake without a woman in his bed.

"Because she robbed a bank in Santa Barbara last week," Tao answered. "And the money's still missing."

Morales took the body, no obvious signs of how she died yet, but healthy young women usually don't drop dead on their own. The squad photographed the scene and sketched it, looking for tread marks, tracks anything that could give a clue.

They collected what they could and headed back to the station

Andrea woke up in her bed alone, tossing and turning. She wanted a Flynn. She curled under her sheets and stayed there.

Brenda slept alone. She tried not to touch herself. It mostly worked. She wanted to knock Fritz's socks off the moment he came to the door.

Bobby couldn't wait for his date on Friday. He slept hugging his pillow, wishing it were Raydor instead.

Mid day

The case wasn't that hard to figure out. Their victim had two roommates who were her best friends in college. They all had low paying jobs and a lot of debt. They both didn't show up for work today. Bolos were put out on their cars, their passports flagged, SBPD, the coast guard and border patrol were notified. Now, time to wait.

Mid Air

Fritz slept like a baby while on the flight. He sat by the window and passed out before his neighbors appeared. Ginos was a hot mess the night before. Krenshaw got a drink thrown in his face by a bartender. There was a bunch of arguing over the game, over who was a bitch, etc. Fritz got exhausted just watching the ruckus.

Andrea texted Flynn. Can you sneak away for a few minutes?

"Sure. Meet me by the park down the street." They met there about 20 minutes later; Andy greeted her with a kiss.

She hugged him. "I missed this."

"I missed you. I don't like waking up to find that you are gone."

"I had to go to work."

"I know, still sucks though."

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I have dinner with the kids."

"That's nice. Want to come over after?"

"Yes."

They kissed again and held each other for a little bit. They both had to return to work.

Sharon hoped this case would be wrapped up before tomorrow night. She did not want to change her plans.

Tao was coordinating between all of the groups investigating, He made a program that showed on a map regions of interest, so each force knew if the other forces found something to investigate. Instead of calling each other in conferences all day, we could actually see the mission unfold.

Sykes rounded up everyone who knew the victim or her friends to try and see how they would have come up with such a scheme.

Sanchez was friends with a detective in Santa Barbara. They discussed the case and strategies for luring the suspects into public.

Brenda went to pick up Fritz from the airport. She was wearing her pink trench coat, with nothing underneath it.


	25. Welcome Home

*** Young lovebirds. They're both 18 ok ***

Rusty and Kyle were chasing each other with super soakers, water everywhere hair wet, clothes clinging to them. Kyle tackled Rusty to the ground, and they started to wrestle. They tossed and turned both trying to win. Rusty got the better of Kyle a couple of times, but Kyle was the captain of the wrestling team for a reason.

"Surrender Beck, you're done."

"Never," Rusty squirmed and tried to get out of the hold, but it was futile.

Kyle had him pinned to the grass his hands pressed overhead. They were about an inch from each other, and their eyes locked together.

The moment lasted a while. They both blushed and turned away. While they were getting up from the ground, at this point muddy, covered in grass stains and covered in water, Rusty's arm grazed Kyle's thigh, causing him to shiver. They turned towards each other, Kyles arm finding Rusty's waist. "Want to head inside?"

Bobby's Work

Bobby was making some progress on his spanish cds. He could greet people, ask them how they are doing, offer food and drinks. His crew liked him, or at least they seemed to. Bobby invited them to get beers after work. Who doesn't like happy hour?

Georgetown

Charlie bought a ticket to LA for Christmas. She charged it to her credit card. She then opened her textbook and got to Linear Algebra, talk about a thrilling experience

Her boyfriend slept on the couch, having pulled an all-nighter to finish his history paper.

Charlie looked over to him; he's so cute when he's curled up like a kitten.

Major Crimes

They got a lead on their suspects. A surveillance camera showed her leaving a Target and getting into a green Chevy. They were searching all of the red light and traffic cameras for it.

"There too many cars like this, Captain." Tao was losing it. He was getting hits left and right.

"Can we filter them out somehow?" Sykes saw all of the boxes popping up. This looked like a mess.

"Maybe start with cars reported stolen," Sanchez suggested.

Tao added the filter. Well, none of these were reported stolen. Tao removed the filter.

"Can we get the plates off of the cameras?" Flynn asked

"Yeah! Why?"

"It's unlikely that they registered the car in their own name. We could run the DMV information from the plates and cross-check it for any known associates." Flynn wanted this case over today. He was not missing dinner with his kids.

Tao called Buzz who was able to link the DMV database to the traffic camera system. Tao then ran a search to cross check the registered owners with everyone they associated with their victim and her suspected killers. Nothing.

"I got zilch." Tao sighed

"How about initials and partial matches?" Raydor asked him.

Tao ran the search again. "Three hits captain. Wait a minute. One of the suspects surname is Prince. This guy is a Prince-Williams, and he's two years younger. Tao looked him up. He's her half-brother.

The team called in backup. They went to his house immediately.

They got to the block and Raydor stopped ahead of the house. She did not want them to see this coming. Once they got confirmation that the car was in the driveway and once their perimeter was set, they started their plan.

Flynn and Provenza got out of the car. "You dumbass. This is not the place."

"This is exactly where the GPS lead us."

"Your GPS is a piece of shit."

"It is not. Maybe your memory is a piece of shit."

They yelled and cursed back and forth.

A man stormed out of the house. "What are you doing here?"

"We're lost."

"Are not? This is where we were supposed to meet. Are you the guy who you know can jailbreak my Xbox? I've been dying to play this game and ..."

"You have the wrong house. You need to leave."

"My guy said you would say that. The passcode is lemon-wedge."

"I don't know any passcode. Just go."

"Come on man. Help a guy out."

"If you don't get out of here," the man flashed a gun in his waistband.

Flynn tackled him to the ground, Provenza grabbed the gun, and the police stormed the house. They caught one suspect by surprise and took her down. The other one was MIA.

"Clear!" Clear" they yelled as they went through the home, room by room. They secured the scene and waited for a search warrant. It arrived, and they tore the house apart.

Sanchez discovered a false wall and knocked it down. Voila, bundled cash. They took pictures and seized it.

"Two down, one to go." Sharon smiled. The end was in sight.

LAX

Brenda pulled into the parking lot. She tightened the belt of her trench coat and briskly walked to meet Fritz. He got off the plane, spotted his wife and approached her. They met at the arrivals section and he embraced her.

"No present," he teased.

"I got you something," she smiled at him. They embraced for a kiss.

When Fritz pulled her into his arms, his hands slipped down to her ass. He was surprised by how well he could feel her through the coat and her clothes. Wait, was she wearing clothes? No way, Brenda did not just pick him up naked. He held her more tightly. Yep, she's naked under there. He smiled and kissed her neck. "This might be a threat to national security."

"Oh you hush." She grabbed his hand, and they went to the car.

Fritz looked left and right. He saw no one. Then, he pulled open the top of Brenda's coat. "Marvelous." He started to kiss her breasts and suck on the nipples. Brenda moaned as he enticed her.

"You must be very excited to see me." He smirked as his hand started to travel up her thigh.

Brenda blushed as his fingers started to prod her clit. "AUUUGH" she gasped as his fingers got to work. He moved quickly in and out of her, knowing exactly where to go to drive her wild. Her whole body blushed for him as he started the build up.

"I can't wait to get you home." Fritz backed out of the parking spot. Brenda quickly readjusted her coat and they were off. Fritz drove like a madman once they were out of LAX and before they knew it, they were home. Fritz carried Brenda to the door. He could get the bags later.

As soon as the door was closed, he pulled off her coat, leaving her standing naked in front of him. He looked her up and down. She was fantastic, her hair falling over her eyes, framing her face perfectly, and her delicate body all there ready for him. He kissed her deeply and then carried her into the bedroom.

Brenda undressed Fritz quickly, tossing his clothes aside. She wrestled with him, pinning him to the bed, and then, she started to kiss him all over. She nipped his thigh, causing him to yelp. She smirked at him and began to tease him, slowly drawing circles on his throbbing head with her tongue. She batted an eyelash or two and began to slowly suck on him.

He squirmed and writhed beneath her. "OHHHH" he groaned as she sped up.

She had him right where she wanted him, forehead sweating, hot and bothered, and she stopped. He had a sad look on his face, and Brenda couldn't help but laugh. She leaned towards him, bracing herself by putting her hands on his shoulders and slowly lowered herself on top of him. She kissed his neck and bit his chest. He grunted, and she began to ride him, slow and easy.

Fritz looked up at her. He didn't want this moment to end. His hands found her hips, and he began fondling her. He loved being able to watch her and touch her.

Brenda began to pick up the pace. It didn't take long for her to elicit a response from Fritz, mostly expletives. "Oh Fuck! Oh Fuck!" His hands grabbed her hips, and he began to match her thrusts.

"Ahhh!" Brenda yelled out as Fritz began thrusting into her. "Give it to me."

Fritz took his cue. He flipped her onto her back and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He left the bed and stood on the floor. He then thrust into her and began to pound.

"Fuck me!" Brenda's eyes rolled to the back of her head. She grunted and growled as he moved faster and harder until she was ready to cum.

It only took a few more thrusts, and then she gushed all over the place. He was almost there, another minute and then he pulled out and shot his load all over her chest and stomach. He collapsed on the bed next to her.

"Welcome home Fritzi!"

"I should leave every week."

Major Crimes

Neither suspect was talking but neither of them had invoked the right of counsel either. Raydor left them to stew. "Now how do I get these jerks to talk."

They heard nothing about the suspect at large. "She seems to be long gone Captain," said Tao.

"How much money was recovered?"

"92,000, and it looks like they bought a bunch of stuff at Target, Walmart, Best Buy."

"That's what's so odd," said Flynn.

"It's odd to spend stolen money?" Provenza was confused.

"It's odd not to lie low for a while. All they had to do was hide the money in a locker somewhere. Keep going to work like nothing happened and then slowly slip away, why leave the body of their accomplice where it would be easily found and drive to a public strip mall where they could be easily spotted."

"That is bizarre," Raydor concurred. She went down to see Morales to see what he could say about the victim.

"I see signs of a struggle. She dug her nails into someone's skin and there were ligature marks on her throat."

"She was strangled?"

"No, someone held her neck and then smashed her had on something. I'm going to go with bathroom sink. I found these bits imbedded in her skull."

"Her head didn't look very bloody."

"It wasn't. Most of the bleeding was internal."

"Time of death?"

"About two hours before we got to the scene."

"Were you able to get any DNA from the fingernails?"

"I took a sample to SID, but that stuff takes time."

"Thanks, Doctor."

Sharon didn't want to wait. She called Agent Howard.

Fritz lied in bed with his wife, not a care in the world.

_Ring Ring_

"Oh fuck!" He grabbed his phone. "Howard!"

"Hey, Agent Howard. It's Captain Raydor."

"What's up?"

"We have a DNA sample from our victim's killer. Our victim robbed a bank last week and made off with 100k, but SID is taking forever."

"You want me to see if the FBI can rush it."

"Could you?"

"Sure. I'll get Donald to come pick it up."

"You're a peach." Fritz hung up the phone

"Sharon Raydor just called me a peach."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"I have no idea."

Andrea came to the squad room. "No one's talking," Provenza told her.

"Maybe, I can get her to talk." Flynn suggested.

"How, by hitting on her until she gives up?" Sanchez retorted. Everyone snickered.

"She's obviously not the brains of this operation, or else she wouldn't have gone out in public spending large amounts of stolen cash. Maybe she'll roll on her brother."

Raydor came back to the conversation. "Any news from anyone?"

"Flynn thinks he can crack our suspect," Sanchez snickered.

"At least someone thinks he can do something. Flynn take a crack at it."

"Really, Captain?"

"Did I stutter? Go."

Flynn grabbed his notes and headed in the room.

Raydor sent Tao w/ SID to go back to the house and swab the sink looking for blood, also check the pipes, floor, etc.

Everyone else went to the surveillance room to watch.

"Jamie is it?" Flynn began. "I need to read you your rights." Flynn read his Miranda card. Andrea thought it was cute that he still read from the card. It reminded her of 21 Jump Street.

"Do you understand?" He handed her a pen and an understanding/waiver form. She read the form but didn't touch the pen.

"I would hate to see you go away for the rest of your life for a stupid mistake. Stealing cash is one thing, but murder, that's a whole different issue."

Her eyes lit up. "I can understand why a young girl with a lot of debt might be tempted to take some money. No one got hurt during the robbery. Banks have insurance. The job market is rough. You're probably overeducated and under appreciated at your job. I can relate to that. I had to wait tables when I got out of school before I got into the academy. It was miserable. Low wages, crummy tips, angry bosses, ungrateful customers."

"I know, they're the worst."

Flynn slid her the form. She checked both boxes.

"You were a waitress for two years."

"I hated every second of that stupid job."

"But you had to pay off your loans."

"It was such a scam. I paid so much to go to school, just to not be able to find anything worth doing."

"Is that how Sandra felt?"

"Yes. She complained every day."

"And Pam?"

"Her two. The three of us were miserable."

"But you found a way to get out of it didn't you."

She stopped suddenly.

"If you talk to me, I can help you. Robbery is one thing, but murder is a whole different story."

"There was no murder. You said it yourself. No one got hurt in the robbery."

"But someone got hurt after. He showed her Sandra's picture."

"Oh god, why does she look ..."

"Dead. She is dead. Someone killed her last night at about midnight."

"That's not possible. She was fine, she was …."

"Was she with you last night? At your brother's house."

"We all were at first, but then Sandra was gone. My brother said she went to meet with some friends, friends who could help us get a new start somewhere else."

"Did she go to get fake documents for you all?"

"That's what he said. My brother said it wouldn't be long before someone recognized Sandra."

"Because she was the one who actually robbed the bank."

"Yes. I only drove the get away car."

"Where was Pam?"

"She was supposed to set up a safe house for us in Santa Monica. I haven't heard from her in a couple of days."

"So she isn't in LA."

"Oh no. She hasn't been back since the robbery."

"Thank you. You have been a great help."

Flynn left with a smile on his face. He knew he could get her to talk.

"Not bad," Provenza commented as he drank a soda.

"I guess that leaves the brother as our killer," Raydor responded. She notified the Santa Monica police to let them know a bank robbery suspect was int heir mists. She forwarded Pam's information. An FBI agent came to pick up the sample. Tao called. There was blood on the sink, and they took a sample to be tested. Also, part of the sink was missing- like the chips found in her skull. They took pictures of it and a sample of the sink for comparison.

Raydor, armed with all of this information, went into the room with the brother. She took Sanchez with her. She read him his rights and handed him the waiver form and a pen. He said nothing.

"Well, I am sure you're a smart man. You were smart enough to hide the money in a false wall. You were smart enough to get three women to do the robbery for you, so if they got caught, you could duck away, but robbery is the least of your troubles now. So I am going to cut to the chase.

We found Sandra's body. We know she was killed in your bathroom when someone, either you or your sister, strangled her. We got the DNA from her fingernails, so once we get a match from the lab, we will either arrest you or your sister with murder in the first degree. Since this murder was done to prevent Sandra from ratting you out, this is a murder with special circumstances, which means it carries the death penalty. If you sign the waiver and talk to me, the DA will know you cooperated. If not, well, you know what you're up against. He didn't move. She got up to leave.

"Wait!" he yelled. "Wait. I didn't kill no one nor did I plan any robbery. When I got home, my sister, and her friends were at my house. They were giggling acting stupid. Then, I heard about the robbery on tv, but didn't think nothing of it until I saw the cash. I told them to turn it in, but then my sister convinced me to let them hid it here until she left town, so I stashed the cash behind the fake wall. I didn't kill her. My sister must of slammed her head against the sink."

"Thank you very much." Sharon got up and left.

"That's it, Captain. What about the confession?"

"He just confessed. She wasn't strangled like I said. Her head was smashed in like he said. He knew that because he smashed it."

"Good work team. The SMPD are looking for Pam. We're done hear folks. They'll be arraigned, get lawyers, and they can take it from there."

The team scattered. Andrea walked out. Flynn followed her. "Are you busy tonight?"

"I have a cooking class I go to on Thursdays."

"Sounds like fun. What's on the menu?"

"We're making a duck confit and a vegetable souffle. You should come."

"I will." They embraced and kissed in the parking lot. Sanchez and Tao were on their way to their cars when they spotted the love birds.

They didn't notice they had visitors. Flynn's hands found Andrea's ass. "I want you," he hissed into her ear.

"Dessert comes after dinner," she teased as she playfully touched his chest. Tao and Sanchez went home like they didn't see anything.


	26. To Catch a Thief

Cooking Class

Andrea handled the duck. Flynn prepared the souffle. There were several couples at the class but Andrea and Flynn were the most endearing. They helped each other mix and chop and gently kissed when they thought no one was paying attention. Souffles cook quickly and confit takes a long time, so they ate the souffle they made that day, but they ate a confit that was made in an earlier class and the confit they made went to a later class. Flynn didn't eat any of the duck for obvious reasons. Andrea gave him some of her souffle and the teacher had plenty of veggies to munch.

"I like cooking with you," Flynn told Andrea as they sat side by side.

"I could get used to this." She was beaming.

Before Flynn could think it through he blurted out, "Do you want to meet my kids tomorrow?"

"What?"

"I'm making them dinner tomorrow at my house, and I would like it if you met them."

"Do they know about me?"

"No."

"You think it's the right time?"

"I have no idea, but I think you're wonderful."

"Okay. I'll be there."

"Dinner's at 7:30."

Andrea smiled. Flynn smiled back, and they continued to talk. The other couples watched with envy. New relationships always looked the best. The women all missed the thrill and all of the firsts that they would share. The men were envious of the sex.

Girls Dinner

Mikki was at her dinner party. She made roasted beets. She didn't really like them, but she was cooking for a lot of health-conscious women, many of them vegetarians. She added some roasted walnuts and rosemary for some flavor.

She got to the house, everyone was there. She noticed that Sue wasn't her normal bubbly self. The girls started with some wine and conversation. Tammi, the host, downed her glass. She could throw them back.

Dinner started. People were loud, talking across each other, giggling, teasing, making inappropriate jokes. Amy was laughing and having a good time, but Sue, her partner, was not. Sue excused herself and stepped out of the room. Mikki followed her.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Sue tried to say nothing, but her eyes were watery. Mikki brought her into the bathroom and gave her a kleenex.

"Is this about Saturday night, at the restaurant?"

"How did you know, did Amy?"

"She didn't say anything. What did Branson do?"

Sue looked nervous. She wasn't sure if she should say, but she needed to tell someone. She was sick of crying every day. "It was our anniversary," Sue's voice was soft and a little muffled. "Beth brought me to the restaurant where we had our first date. She got them to replicate everything we ate and drank that day, even the stuff that was no longer on their menu. We were on our way back to the table for dessert. We had gone to the restroom, when Branson came by. I didn't even notice him at first. He walked right up to me and Amy and asked if we had been 'fucking in the bathroom'? Well of course Amy was offended. They got into an argument. He said well, everyone knows gays fuck in public bathrooms and he was surprised that this restaurant would even seat people like us and he left. He's not the first homophobe I have dealt with but I never …." The tears came back.

Mikki gave her a hug. "You won't have to work for this jerk anymore."

"I'm almost out of sick days. I haven't been to work since."

"He's under investigation for mistreating his team. He's on his way out."

"Really, but no one will stand up to him."

"My friend is and her team is going to take him down. All you have to do is tell her what happened."

"I can't do that. If Branson finds out..."

"She doesn't answer to him. He can't touch her, or you. Taylor wants him out."

"I thought Taylor was his friend."

"Taylor has no friends."

Sue laughed. "That's probably true. I don't know. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.

"That's what everyone does. How well has that been working for you?"

Sue was silent.

"Everyone stays silent and things always get worse. They don't get better. Think about it."

They went back to dinner. No one asked any questions. Amy did hold Sue's hand for the rest of the evening. Sue leaned on her shoulder. Amy wishes she had decked Branson then and there, but she liked having a job.

Happy Hour time

Bobby ordered Coronas for the table. He was more of a Bud guy, but he wanted to fit in. Bobby always thought it was important to have a good relationship with your employees. He's their boss, not their buddy. He expects their all at work, but he also wants them to see him as a good guy, someone they want to give their best to. The waitresses at this place were hot. They liked to flirt with Bobby, but he didn't pay them too much mind. He was nice, as always, but he had his eyes on his prize.

Andrea's House

They took separate cars from the cooking class, but they pulled into the same driveway. They walked together into the home, Andrea's nosy neighbor getting a look at her new beau. They kissed passionately, Flynn ready to make good on his earlier word. Their lips were so into it they were battling for position. Flynn's hands found Andrea's ass, and her legs instinctively wrapped around his hips. He carried her to the kitchen table. Then, he took off her shoes. He unbuttoned her blouse and began to kiss her chest.

"Ahhh, keep doing that."

Flynn's hands made quick work of Andrea's clothes. He began kissing her from her neck down to her calves and slowly worked his way back up. Then, he went back to her breasts and kissed his way down her stomach to her thighs. He paused. Took off his shirt and tie. Flynn grabbed her legs and put them on his shoulders. Her back was lying on the kitchen table. Flynn dove forward, burying his face between her legs, licking her furiously.

"FUCK!" Andrea yelled as her hips rose off the table to meet him.

Flynn knew exactly how to drive her wild. He took turns slowly prodding her clit with his tongue and plunging his tongue deep within her.

Andrea's hands clenched as she started to lose control. "FUCK, FUCK, FUCK" each one a higher pitch than the one before.

Flynn replaced his tongue with his fingers that could play her like a violin. They knew where to prod, how deep to push, and he could curl them, so they reached her g-spot.

"AWWW YES," she cried out, loving the attention.

He got her to the edge, just about to cum, and then he went back to using his tongue. He sucked on her clit, and she lost it. She writhed and thrashed about as she came all over him. Her hands pushed him into her and she bucked wildly until she was done.

"AWWW!" she moaned out as she leaned back onto the table.

"Let's go to bed." He carried her upstairs and brought her to her bed. He ditched his pants and boxers, and they got into bed. They were spooning. Flynn grabbed a condom from the drawer and put it on. He plunged into her, eliciting gasps and moans as he thrusted into her. They went nice and slow. Flynn had all of the time in the world.

Friday

Jacob met with Brenda's old lawyer. He gave him some tips on how to negotiate. Jacob was always about compromise. He learned today that the best way to represent his client was to get as far under his maximum deal as possible. If Bobby will pay 10k, offer to pay 4. You could just ask to settle for 10 off the bat, but if she'll take 6, then you're a better lawyer than if you had just settled for 10. Jacob took a lot of notes. He did well in his law school, but he didn't go to the best school. He went where he could afford to go and learned on the job. He also was advised to look at some court decrees and try and guess how a judge would settle the case. If he can't get an offer that is better than what he would expect at trial, don't take it. Jacob had some work to do.

Major Crimes

The sister took a deal. She would plead to being an accessory to the robbery and agreed to testify that her brother and Sandra planned the burglary. Apparently, they used to be friends with benefits, but Sandra got a new boy-toy. She told them everything she knew.

The brother invoked, but he was toast. He kept denying any wrongdoing despite all of the evidence.

SMPD found Pam. She tried to run, but she got caught. She was being held as an accessory after the fact.

Sharon smiled. Case Over. Sharon went home, took a shower, shaved her legs, washed her hair. She wanted every detail just right. She touched up her nail polish, picked out her pearl earrings and a matching bracelet, did her makeup. Sharon wore a beautiful chiffon halter dress, white on top, but the body was black. The top had a ruffle, which emphasized her breasts.

She smiled as she looked in the mirror. Tonight, would be a good night.

She primped in the mirror, and then she heard the doorbell ring.

Rusty got to the door first. He found an attractive gentlemen at the door, flowers in hand, blue dress shirt with a dark grey suit and a nice tie. "I take it you're here for Sharon."

"Yes. I'm Bobby."

"Rusty. Sharon, your date is here."

Sharon rushed out, almost tripping over her own feet.

"Easy, Sharon, don't hurt yourself now." Rusty laughed.

"Oh you hush."

"These are for you." Bobby handed her the flowers, a mix of lilies and magnolias.

"Aw! I thought those were for me," Rusty pouted

Sharon and Bobby laughed. Sharon put the flowers in a vase with water. She added a little sugar and salt to the vase.

"I'll leave you lovebirds alone." Rusty retreated to his room.

Sharon gave Bobby a quick kiss. "Ready to go."

"Yeah."

They headed out to the car. Bobby borrowed Fritz's car. He didn't think a pickup truck was good for a first date, well once you're past the age of 19.

He drove to the steakhouse. Sharon smelled fantastic. He wanted to pull over the car and take her in the backseat. _Patience Bobby._

They got to the parking lot. Bobby opened the door for him. They walked into the restaurant. He grabbed every door. The hostess wasn't at the table when they arrived. She rushed out when she saw them. "Robert Johnson?"

"Bobby, but yes, that's me."

"Your table is ready." She lead them to their table. It was by the window, overlooking the water, just as Bobby requested.

"The view is lovely," Sharon was beaming.

"I know." Bobby looked straight at her. "You look amazing."

Sharon blushed. The waitress came out. She showed them the wine specials.

"What would you like?" Bobby asked his lady.

"The Pinot Grigio sounds lovely."

"A bottle please." Bobby wanted this night to be perfect. His hands gently brushed against hers. Her hands were nice to soft.

The waitress came back with wine and two menus.

Bobby poured two glasses. He was generous, but not overeager. Sharon took a sip. It was fantastic, nice and cool. The alcohol wetted her lips.

Bobby saw them, and he wanted to kiss her, but he wasn't going to rush this at all. He took a sip. It was nice. He wasn't really a wine guy, but he could learn.

"This wine is nice."

"I'm glad you like it."

They smiled at each other and looked at their menus. Sharon saw the baby surf and turf, a 4 oz steak with a lobster tail. It camed with grilled asparagus and sauteed mushrooms and onions. Bobby was a meat and potatoes guy. He saw the mashed potatoes with butter and chives and the spicy skirt steak.

The sun set as they dined. The sunset and the water made an amazing image.

The waitress returned and asked if they wanted any appetizers. Sharon suggested the fish combo, the scallop ceviche and the tuna tartare. They decided to split it. Bobby didn't know what a ceviche was, or a tartare for that matter, but he didn't want to sound silly.

They continued to make conversation. Sharon's eyes glimmered in the light. Bobby's eyes burned with desire.

Bobby had a spicy scent to him, something like cayenne, cedar and cinnamon. The smell was very alluring. Sharon wanted him.

The appetizers came. The dishes were served with thin toasted baguette slices. The waitress ground a little black pepper on top. Sharon spooned a bit of tuna on her cracker and bit down. It was delicious. The tuna was mixed with capers, a little lemon juice, onion and mustard. Bobby tried some next. It was kind of squishy and it was cold, but it tasted ok. Bobby tried the ceviche next. It was also cold, but it tasted better. It had some avocado in it, which made Bobby a fan.

They ate and drank their wine, their eyes doing most of the talking. "You have soft hands," Bobby commented as he rubbed them. Bobby's hands were big, engulfing Sharon's.

The waitress brought their entrees. The steak was perfect, fresh, well seasoned, perfectly cooked- medium for Sharon. She bit into the asparagus, nice and well grilled. The onions and mushrooms were seared in a mixture of butter and steak juice. They were awesome. Bobby chowed down. His steak was medium rare, just like he liked it, and it had a good kick to it. The food was so good they ate readily and didn't talk much. Sharon's plate was empty. Bobby's had plenty of food, but he was still going. They resumed their conversation, and Bobby chomped until the food was all gone. The waitress asked if they wanted dessert. Bobby just wanted Sharon. They looked at each other longingly, and Bobby asked for the check.

Bobby paid and they left the restaurant. As soon as they got in the car, Sharon grabbed Bobby and kissed him. He returned the kiss and then gently pulled away. "The night is still young."

He drove her home, and they both went into her house, ready to resume their kissing party. Sharon pulled Bobby into her arms and Bobby wrapped his around her waist. They shuffled to her bedroom. Their hands wandered each other's bodies, clothes fell away like an afterthought and they collapsed on the bed.

Bobby covered her in kisses and let his fingers gently trace her body. Her skin was all tingly. "You're amazing," he hissed into her ear as he found her neck and started to nibble. She murmered as he gently ran his hands along her body. Her body was beautiful, her skin flawless, her nipples nice and pink just as he had envisioned them, curves in all of the right places. He took a minute to soak it all in.

Bobby was a former football player and was active all his life. He was muscular, large pecs and shoulders, his abs clearly visible. He also had nice legs, he was no pizza slice. His butt was muscular and round. He had a very powerful hip drive, and he was going to take Sharon on a wild ride.

He found his way to Sharon's legs. Her skin was perfectly smooth. He ran his fingers up her calf to her inner thigh. He moved closer and closer. Without any warning, he dove in head first.

Sharon thrashed as his tongue pressed against her inner walls. She was stunned that he went straight for her pussy. A man hadn't done anything this intimate to her in a long time. She grunted as he began to explore. "Ugggghhhh" was about all she could muster as he got her going. She leaned back, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she enjoyed his tongue. He alternated with his tongue and fingers. He had a system, and he was going to make her cum for him.

"You like this don't you."

"AHHH!" she cried out. Her face flush, her hair fell out of the bun she had put it in. She was slowly unravelling as he performed his work. Before long, she was gushing for him, like a fountain. He smiled as she had orgasm after orgasm. He was just getting started.

His hot breath found her neck, and he began to nibble on her. His throbbing cock rubbed against her as he kissed his way down her body. "I want to have my way with you."

He pulled her to him and gently pushed his way into her.

"OH OH GOD." She gasped. He was rather large. Eventually, he was all of the way in.

_She's really tight_ he thought as he held still for a minute. "Relax," he whispered into her ear as he nuzzled her neck.

She kissed him, and he began to slowly piston his way in and out of her. His hands cupped her face and he slowly picked up his pace.

She groaned and grunted as he thrusted. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so good. His hands slipped down to her clit ,and he started to rub it. He wanted her cumming again.

"Oh FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" she yelled as he drove her over the edge again. She kept cumming, her body clenching tightly, almost causing him to lose control. He bit his bottom lip and braced himself. Eventually, her orgasm subsided, and she relaxed on the bed. He smiled at her, a devilish twinkle in his eyes. He let her catch her breath, and then he went right back to thrusting. He pushed her ankles onto his shoulders and began to pound her harder and harder. Sweat dripped down her face, she was blushing all over, and her hair was everywhere.

She looked like sex, and Bobby couldn't get enough. He began to grope her breasts and pinched her nipples roughly, eliciting a moan, a loud one. He kept driving his hips into hers. She wanted to thrust back, but he had all of the control. His hands grabbed her hips and held them steady as he drove into her.

"OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD." She came for him a third time. Now, Bobby was ready. He took a few more thrusts, and then he pulled out. He started to stroke his throbbing dick. He shot his seed all over her face and chest. She was his and his alone. He made that very clear.

Sharon was stunned, out of no where she was covered with his sperm. She opened her mouth to say something, but she just fell back into the bed. He lied down next to her. "I'm just getting started."

Sharon didn't know how much more she could take. After a few minutes, she was about to find out. Bobby pulled her to her hands and knees and began to kiss the back of her neck and her shoulders. He put on another condom and slid into her. "UUGGGUGUG" she groaned as he pumped in and out of her. She was sopping wet, and he glid into her easily. He started off fast, his penis just finding her g-spot and getting her going.

He loved this angle. He loved the ability to thrust her just as he wanted, he loved being able to see his penis penetrate her, her round, bubbly ass right in front of him, her breasts swaying under her body as he thrusted. He bit her neck and kept going. He slowed down and changed his quick shallow thrusts to slow, deep ones. He would slowly pull out just to slam into her as deep as he could. She screamed. He did this several times, each one causing the same reaction. When she had enough, he went back to fucking her. He grabbed her shoulders and tightly gripped them as he thrusted, giving him the leverage he wanted.

"AWWHWHWHWW!" was all Sharon could do. Her mind was a loss of words. She never had a lover so attentive to her body. He seemed to know every trigger she had, even ones she hadn't identified. He knew how to take control of her body, and she was ready to let him. She loved the way he made her feel. She felt powerless to his charms and she succumbed to him.

He gently slid her arms forward from under her, so she was lying on her stomach. He rode her as hard as he could. She yelled and screamed as he barreled into her. He pulled her hair roughly as she began cumming. She was exhausted, but he was still hard and still deep inside of her. He rolled on his back and pulled her on top of him. She was in the reverse cowgirl position, and he began to thrust, his hands on her hips. She bucked on him wildly, trying to brace herself. She finally got herself into position when his hands found her clit again.

"Oh MY MY MY MY FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" She started cumming again. She collapsed on top of him. Bobby held her in his arms and pumped in and out of her until he was ready, then he came deep inside of her. Bobby pulled her into his arms, and they fell asleep.

Dinner w/ the Flynns

Andrea wore a pale blue dreess. She was unaware of what one wears to meet her beau's adult children. She brought a chcolate cake and rang the doorbell.

Flynn opened the door. "Perfect timing." He took her hand, and they walked into the dining room.

"Andrea, this is Julia, Marissa and Drew. Kids, this is Andrea."

"Great introduction, Dad." Julia rolled her eyes.

"Are you his sponsor or something?" Marissa had no idea why this seemingly normal woman would be with Dad.

"Oh No. You're father and I are a couple."

"Run while you still can," Julia whispered.

Drew shook his head.

"Dinner's ready."

Flynn served portabello mushroom caps stuffed with onions and peppers and cheese on top.

"I hate peppers," Julia complained.

"You licked the plate," Drew retorted.

They glared at each other.

Flynn was fine with their quarreling. As long as they weren't mad at him, he was good.

"So Andrea, what do you do?" Marissa was curious about this woman.

"I am a prosecutor."

"You throw jerks in jail." Drew responded. He looked at dad as if to say, "Don't mess with her Dad. You'll go to the pokey."

Flynn shook his head.

"So you work all day and don't make dirt." Julia added. "Just like dad."

"Julia!" that girl never had any manners.

"It's not all bad. The government paid my student loans, and I get a pension."

"Ever think of jumping ship and going private."

"Maybe when I'm older."

"Really," Flynn couldn't see her leaving.

"A lot of lawyers become private advisors towards the end of their careers. Make some quick bucks, retire on a beach house."

"Beach house," Marissa loved the beach.

Flynn served the main course, tortellini stuffed with almond paste and cheese with a broccoli rabe and a pesto sauce.

The food was perfect. The pasta was handmande. Andrea could get used to an Italian man. She already had.

"So, how did you fall into Dad's trap."

"Julia!"

"We started seeing each other after work one day. His car broke down and."

"That piece of junk. I've been telling you to replace it for years, Dad."

"Good thing he didn't," Drew chuckled. Only his dad could get a girlfriend via a broken car.

"So you fell for a guy too cheap to buy a real car."

"He has one, now."

They continued to grill Andrea, but she seemed flawless to them.

Flynn served the cake. It was delicious, soft and just the right amount of chocolatey goodness. Drew got some milk. "This cake rocks."

"I'm glad you like it." Andrea hoped she was making a good impression.

"I like carrot cake," Julia announced.

"When it's your birthday, maybe someone will care." She and Drew went right back to bickering.

Marissa shook her head. They were always like this. "So Andrea, what are your intentions with my father?"

"Marissa!"

Andrea laughed. She had never been on this side of the conversation before. Usually this was her father grilling her boyfriends.

"All of the pieces have fallen into the right place. I intend for things to stay that way."

Marissa wasn't going to get a rise out of her. " Dad, you gonna put a ring on it!"

"Marissa!"

"She seems perfect. If she's foolish enough to marry you, you'd better ask."

Andrea laughed. All of Flynns kids where characters, just like him..

They retired to the living room. Julia and Drew fought over which song to play on the speakers. Marissa was texting.

"I hope they weren't too much."

"Oh, they were fine. They're all like you."

"They're nothing like me."

"But they are, bold with a dry sense of humor, lots of energy." Andrea kissed him. "And you're wonderful."

Flynn was happy to have survived dinner mostly unscathed.


	27. Boys Wanna Have Fun, Too

Brenda and Fritz woke up in each others arms. They had a tame Friday night, takeout dinner, movie, bath, late night conversation and bed. Brenda tired him out Thursday after he returned from Chicago and a little bit more on Friday morning.

Fritz heard a howl. He got up and took Hunter outside. He returned to bed.

Fritz gave Brenda a kiss. "Good morning."

"Want to get breakfast."

"Yeah. In a little while." He had a smirk on his face. He rolled on top of her and began kissing her face and jaw line. She ran her fingers through his hair, and they sunk into the sheets. They tossed and tussled with each other as they got themseves ready for action. The sunlight shined on them as they slipped under the blankets and got their morning started. He found his way inside her, and she began to moan. They muttered and gasped as he slowly thrusted. His lips found her earlobe and his teeth began to nibble.

Her legs wrapped around his hips, and she pulled him closer to her. "Have me," she hissed into his ear.

He grabbed her hips and sped up. "Oooohhhhoooooooohhhhooo," she moaned as he pounded her.

It wasn't long before they both lost it and they collapsed on the bed. They lied quietly for a few minutes. "Breakfast?"

"Yes, Brenda," he laughed. We can go get breakfast."

Flynn's house.

Flynn couldn't believe Marissa brought up marriage. They just started dating. Now that she said it, eh couldn't get the image of Andrea in a wedding dress out of his mind. He imagined kissing her, carrying her to the honeymoon suite, what she was wearing under her wedding dress, their consummation of the marriage. His dick loved the idea of getting married.

Andrea slept peacefully. She got through a night of the kids and despite Andy's fears, it wasn't a total disaster. Flynn watched her sleep. She looked like an angel.

Sharon's House

Sharon was fast asleep. Bobby literally fucked the daylights out of her. He was hungry enough to eat a cow. He got up, put on his boxers, pants and shirt and headed for the kitchen. He surveyed the fridge, eggs, bacon, milk, cheese, mushrooms, broccoli and took them all out the fridge. He grabbed a cutting board and diced the mushrooms. He grabbed a bowl and a whisk and began beating some eggs. He poured in a little milk and some salt and pepper to the eggs. He then began to sear the veggies in one pan and cook the bacon in another.

The smell of bacon lured Rusty out of bed. He wore just his pajama pants. He opened his eyes to see Bobby making breakfast. _Sharon must of gotten hers_, he thought, and he cooks. Rusty was a little jealous.

"Hey, Rusty."

"Hey, yourself. What happened to Sharon?"

"Still asleep."

"You tire her out."

Bobby laughed. _This kid has no idea._

Rusty made some toast

Bobby put the veggies to a side and added the eggs to the pan. He flipped the eggs by shaking the pan, then he added the cheese. Once the eggs were cooked, he made a second omelete.

While the eggs were cooking, he went to the bedroom. "Hey, Sharon. Breakfast is coming up."

She didn't answer. He shook her gently.

"What's going on?"

"Breakfast in 5 minutes."

"That sounds nice."

He went back to the eggs. Sharon eventually stumbled out of bed, a sticky mess from the night before. She fell into the shower and turned it on.

Bobby finished up cooking and Rusty poured himself some milk. He got out the fresh squeezed juice for Sharon. Bobby looked for ingredients to make a bloody mary.

"Where's the vodka?"

"I don't think she has any."

Bobby sighed. He settled for orange juice and sat down.

Sharon didn't even get dressed. She just wore a bathrobe. Her hair was all over the place and she was barely conscious

"Is it possible to have the walk of shame in your own house?"

"Rusty!"

"Sorry, but she looks dead. Sharon, was Bobby too much for you? Can I have him?"

Sharon sighed and began to drink her juice, nice and cold, kept her awake.

"These eggs are awesome, fluffy, not overcooked. Can we keep him?" Rusty loved to eat.

Sharon took a bite, tasty, very tasty.

They didn't talk much. Bobby and Rusty chowed down, and Sharon thought it was an accomplishment that she didn't fall asleep in her food. After breakfast, Rusty cleared the plates. Sharon stumbled back to her bedroom, got dressed, changed the sheets.

Bobby went back to the bedroom. He gave Sharon a kiss. "I got to get home. Hunter probably wants to eat." Sharon's hands found their way to his chest. She kissed him again. "We should do this again."

"We will." He kissed her one last time and was off.

The Beach

Gabriel and Eliza were at the boardwalk. They ate corndogs on sticks and played games. Gabriel won her a giant dinosaur. She loved lugging it around. She had quite the prize

They got to the funnel cake. The wind got sugar everywhere. Gabriel wiped some of it off of her mouth. She responded with a kiss. The dinosaur made it awkward because she didn't want to put it down, but she didn't want to let go of Gabriel either. Gabriel pulled her onto his lap, so she could kiss him and keep her toy. They had all of the time in the world.

Kyle's House

Kyle just got out of the shower. Water dripped from his young, muscular body and all that covered him was a towel. He wasn't sure if he should have made his move the other day. Rusty definitely brushed against his leg. Was it intentional, he didn't know, but his body sure reacted to him. He gave Rusty a call.

"Hello," Rusty spoke into the phone. He didn't even check the id.

"Hey, it's Kyle. You awake."

"Yeah, what's up."

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over, play some basketball."

"Uh Sure." Rusty couldn't play basketball, but whatever.

"Great, I can pick you up. 11"

"Sure."

Rusty didn't know what to wear. He grabbed some shorts, a sleeveless shirt and his sneakers. He didn't even have athletic sneakers. These were just Chucks.

Kyle didn't want to play basketball. He didn't even know why he said that.

Kyle got dressed, put on some board shorts and a t-shirt and headed out the door. He drove to Sharon's house and parked in the driveway. He got the door and rang the bell.

Rusty got to the door first. "Hey, Come on in." Rusty walked down the hall. "Sharon. I'm going to play basketball."

"With who," Sharon came out the door.

"You remember Kyle."

"My friends Jake and Henry are meeting us fo 2."

"Have fun boys."

The boys were off. Sharon drank some hot chocolate and lied on her couch. She needed to recover.

Rusty hoped he wouldn't look stupid playing against these other kids. He wasn't much of a shooter. They got to Kyle's house. Kyle went straight to the fridge and grabbed a beer.

"Drinking before basketball."

"Well... There is no basketball."

"What?" _Why am I wearing this stupid outfit?_

"I made it up because I wanted you to come over."

"Why didn't you just say so?"

Kyle didn't really have a good answer. He got close to Rusty, their faces within inches of each other. Instead of speaking, he kissed him. His hands found Rusty's back. They made an striking pair, Rusty was taller and leaner, Kyle was shorter and muscular. Kyle broke the kiss. "Let's go upstairs." He grabbed his beer, and they were off.

Rusty thought Kyle's room was so cool. His bed was an old, deconstructed, police wagon, the cage part of the back The cage was open on the top and the posts of the bed were like bars. Kyle's room was covered in old relics and repurposed items. His desk chair was a steel drum. He used an old fisherman's net to hold his sports equipment on the wall. He must have spent a lot of time putting this all together. As Rusty admired the scene, Kyle took off his shirt and his shoes. He knew what he wanted, and he was determined to get it. His arms slipped around Rusty's waist, and he carried him to the bed.

The kissing resumed. Rusty's hands were all over Kyle's chest. They were both quick to bite each other. Kyle yanked off Rusty's shirt and made quick work of his shorts. Rusty ended up on top of Kyle, his legs on either side of him. Kyle was clearly ready for more, and Rusty didn't disappoint. He pulled off the rest of Kyle's clothes and got to work with his mouth.

Kyle grunted. He had no idea how Rusty could be so talented, knowing nothing of Rusty's past. His hands found Rusty's hair, and he gently an his fingers through it as Rusty performed. It didn't take very long. Rusty knew exactly what to do and yes, he swallowed. "Spitters are quitters," said Rusty. Kyle bust out laughing.

It was time to switch places. Kyle knelt in front of Rusty and returned the favor. Rusty closed his eyes, not used to this kind of attention. Kyle used less of his mouth and more of his hands. His hands were strong, and they brought Rusty over the edge. They both collapsed on the bed.

"Is this how you always play basketball?"

"Oh shut up." Kyle hit him with a pillow.

Atlanta

Joyce hated sucking Michael's dick, but she wanted money to go shopping. She sat in front of him, bobbing up and down on his short member. The thought of him made her gag. He thought she loved him, but she loved the money. He was just a fringe disbenefit. She took it in her mouth, but spit it out the first chance she got. As he closed his eyes, she asked him for some money. He pointed to his drawer, and she took $300 and left.

Cousin Jacob set a draft of his counteroffer in the mail to Bobby. He needed his approval before he could send it. Jacob offered no alimony, no pension, no 401k. He offered the main house, if she paid Bobby 1/3 of the market value, noted in the letter there was no vacation house anymore, and he offered to only ask for half of the money from the debt that Bobby paid off when he closed the accounts. Most of that debt was hers. He figured the higher he started, the closer he could get to getting Bobby a good deal.

He then began to smoke some pork. He was having a BBQ and it was going to be awesome.


	28. Black and White

The Diner

Fritz and Brenda ate breakfast together. They sat side by side in a booth, feeding each other, stealing kisses. They were adorable. "You have whipped cream on your nose, Brenda." Fritz licked it off. They kissed again.

"I love you, Fritz Howard." Brenda rested her hands on his shoulders.

He pulled Brenda onto his lap. "I love it when you say it. Say it again."

"I love you," she whispered into his ear. He beamed as he kissed her forehead. "I love you, Mrs. Howard."

They hugged, and their foreheads met.

"I always feel safe when I'm with you." She confided in him.

The waiter saw them cuddling. They were so happy. It was a rarity to see married couples that happy. He brought her another mimosa.

Flynn's House

Andrea woke up in Flynn's bed. She didn't want to put her dress back on, so she grabbed one of his t-shirts and put it on. She came downstairs.

Flynn loved seeing her in one of his shirts. He greeted her with a kiss. "You hungry."

She nodded.

"Let's cook."

Andrea opened the fridge and took out the eggs, milk, and blueberries. Flynn grabbed sugar, flour, vanilla extract, oil and cinnamon. They mixed the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ones in another. Flynn heated up a skillet and Andrea started pouring batter. Once the pancakes started to cook, Andy dropped berries into them. Flynn took out his standing mixer.

Andrea was impressed that he had one. Flynn poured in heavy cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar and turned it on. Voila, whipped cream. He spooned out a bit and fed Andrea. She kissed him, getting whipped cream all over his lips.

He licked his lips and smiled.

The pancakes were done. They topped their pancakes with whipped cream and ate. Everything was delicious.

After breakfast, they cleared the plates. "There's plenty of whipped cream left."

Flynn smirked and grabbed the bowl. "I think we can put this to good use." They went upstairs.

Brenda + Fritz's place

Bobby fed Hunter and took a shower. He took his suit and put it in a bag to take to the cleaners. He did laundry and cracked open a beer.

He sat down to watch the afternoon game. He felt very content. Last night was amazing. He loved every inch of Sharon's body. She was incredible, and he smiled at the thought of their next encounter.

Sharon's house

She drank a glass of wine. It was before 5PM, but she needed something to take the edge off. Her body was exhausted, but her brain was going 1000 miles a minute. Bobby was a powerful lover. He was aggressive with his body but gentle with his kisses. He explored every inch of her and made her feel like a woman who had it all. Her hips and back were sore. He gave her quite a workout. Her abs hurt too, but she felt good. He loved that she was his focus in the bedroom. Her husband knew how to focus on himself. She had never expected any different, until now.

_This wine is delicious._Sharon was grateful not to have a case right now. She flipped on the tv and watched the discovery channel.

Kyle's house.

Kyle enjoyed his beer. Rusty lied down. This mattress was comfortable. _I could get used to this_. Kyle kissed him. His mouth was a little sour from the beer. Rusty started gnawing on his neck. They rolled about, hands and lips roaming all over.

Kyle grabbed a condom and opened the wrapper with his teeth. He put the condom on Rusty with his mouth.

"Busting out all of the party tricks."

Kyle grinned, and covered Rusty's cock with lube. Kyle pushed Rusty's shoulders onto the bed and slid on top of him.

"Aw yeah," Rusty could get used to this. Kyle began to ride him. He had great hip control. Rusty's hands found his hips and then cupped his ass. He had a great one, well muscled, nice and round. He was perfect.

They grunted and groaned. It wasn't long before Kyle was ready. He shot his load all over Rusty's chest.

Rusty flipped him over, taking control. Kyle's ankles rested on Rusty's shoulders, and Rusty began to pound him.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

Kyle pulled Rusty's hands to his neck. He liked it rough. Rusty pressed into Kyle's neck, and began to pound harder and harder. Soon, he pulled out and came all over Kyle. They collapsed onto the bed, both a mess.

Eliza's Loft

Eliza had a beautiful loft. The first floor was her living area, kitchen, bedroom, etc. The second floor was the work area. The first floor had the large windows and let in lots of light. The second floor was darker, which was better for drawing. Eliza had a complex matrix of lights she used to control the lighting for her drawing and painting. She gave Gabriel the grand tour. The place was beautiful: top of the line appliances, nice furniture, beautiful pictures on the wall. She showed him the lighting system. He was in awe. "You put a lot of work in this place."

"Lighting is everything. I wanted it to be just right."

They went back downstairs. "Would you like a drink?"

"Have any beer."

She opened her fridge. "I think I finished it all. I have whiskey."

"A whiskey sour would be great." She made two and brought them to the couch. They drank and chatted. "Thanks, Eliza." Eliza asked him about work. He was a little nervous telling her about it, well after last year, but she was an artist, so he could say a little bit. "We're investigating an officer for misconduct."

"I didn't know you did Internal Affairs."

"I don't. We're investigating Internal Affairs."

"That must be quite the case."

"It's kind of miserable. He's been mistreating his officers for a long time, but who do you go to when IA is your problem. Everyone just stayed silent."

Eliza could hear the pain in his voice. She imagined he saw a lot of darkness in his job. Her hand gently grazed his face.

They sat together, not really speaking much. They finished their drinks and then she took the glasses away. She came back to the couch. Gabriel's hands found her waist and he kissed her. She kissed him back, his breath was a mix of whiskey and lime. He smelled like the beach. Her hands were nimble and she smoothly got his shirt off. He had an amazing chest, beautiful dark skin, nice muscles but he was lean, not too bulky. He was strong but gentle. She made quick work of his shorts, leaving him in just his boxers. He wrapped his arms around her, his lips finding her neck and kissing her gently. She straddled his hips and deepened the kiss. His head burried into her chest.

"Ohhh," she moaned as he got her shirt off. Her bra was next. His mouth found her nipple and gently bit. "AHHH!" she groaned as he continued his oral attack. She raised her hips for him, and he pulled off her skirt. His hands promptly found her bare ass. She was wearing a g-string. He groped her ass as he nibbled on her neck. She started gyrating. Her motions got him hard very quickly. His throbbing member pressing against her. "You smell good," he told her, and she did. He didn't know the scent, but she was intoxicating.

She nuzzled his neck and began nibbling on his ear lobe. She reached into his boxers and began to stroke him. He groaned loudly as she used her hands on him. Her hands were strong. She used them for work all day.

He stopped her. "You're going to make me cum." He pulled off her g-string, and his fingers slowly entered her. She rode his hands, and he began sucking on her breasts. He got her nice and ready for him. She was wet and wanted more. He began kissing her collarbone.

"I want you inside me," she whispered into his ear. He asked her for a condom. "I'll be back."

She rummaged through her drawer, not sure if she had any large ones. She found a 3 pack of Ls. _Whew _ She returned with a condom and put it on him. She climbed on top of him, guiding him into her.

She felt amazing. David gasped as she rode him intently. She knew how to bring him close to the edge and then slow him down just in time. She did this three different times, driving Gabriel crazy with lust. She was beautiful. Gabriel looked into her eyes and appreciated her hourglass figure.

She seemed to be ready to do tease him again, but Gabriel grabbed her hips and began to thrust. He fucked her hard, causing her to yell and scream for more. He flipped her, putting her back on the coffee table as he pounded her. Eliza arched her back, making it easier for Gabriel to thrust into her. It wasn't long before they both got their relase. They were covered in sweat.

"Let's go to the shower." Gabriel picked her up and carried her there. Eliza swiftly grabbed another condom before they went.

He turned on the water and began to lather her from head to toe. She returned the favor, rubbing his ass and pinching and squeezing it. They kissed and groped each other furiously. He put her hands on the wall opposite the shower head. He kissed her behind her ears and nuzzled on her neck. She muttered excitedly as his hands found her breasts and began to knead them. She moaned and grunted as he worked her body.

He put on a condom, grabbed her hips and plunged into her. The hot water hit his back as he banged her. She moaned and grunted as he used his hips to drive her wild. It wasn't long before he had her cumming again for him. He kept going, harder and faster as she hollered and howled for him. She rocked her hips and began to thrust back into him. They went hard and fast until she was cumming again. "AWWWWW FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FU-U-U-U..." She lost control and collapsed under him. He held her up, and pulled her to him. He sunk his teeth into her neck. "AHHHHH!" she yelled as he continued to piston in and out of her. Soon, he came. He shut off the water. The cold hair hit them, evaporating the water from their bodies.

He carried her out of the shower and slowly dried her off. He kissed her neck and brought her to bed. They cuddled together. David's skin was nice and warm. Eliza curled into him, and they basked in the sunlight from her window.

The Park

Brenda and Fritz finished breakfast and went to the park. They went on a walk through it, enjoying the scenery. They crossed over a little foot bridge and made their way to a secluded part of the park. They found a bench to sit on, and Fritz gave Brenda a kiss. They found themselves a nice little makeout spot.

Flynn's House

Andrea tossed her clothes off. Flynn followed her, carrying the bowl. He set it on the bedside table. Andrea pulled his shirt of his head. She pulled down his boxers and pulled him onto the bed. She covered his neck and collar bone in whipped cream, and began to slowly lick it off. He pulled her hair back, so it wouldn't get sticky.

Andrea's lips went to down to his belly button. Her tongue tickled him. He started to laugh. She bit his chest aggressively. He flipped her onto her back and put whipped cream on her nipples and made a line with it from her chest to her belly button. He slowly licked her breasts, savoring every moment. She moaned and groaned as he teased her nipples with his tongue.

He then licked his way down to her belly button. He kissed her thighs and her calves. Flynn's mouth was dry from all of the sugar. He left and came back with some water. Andrea drank some too and they went back to work. They started kissing and touching each other, hands roaming all over. He lied on the bed. Andrea climbed on top of him. She swiftly took him into her mouth.

He grunted, growled, howled and cursed as she taunted and teased him. He gently caressed her back and then he started to tug on her thighs. She turned 90 degrees, so that her legs were over his chest. He leaned into her and began to devour her. She moaned on him as he invaded her with his tongue.

They got into a cycle of pleasing each other, getting distracted by the pleasure they received and then starting again. Andy started to use his fingers to join his mouth and she started to lose control. She returned the favor and began to stroke him aggressively. They came one after the other, and they both collapsed on the bed.

"I haven't been home all day. I need to water my plants."

"I don't like it when you leave."

"I don't either."

The conversation ended at that. Andrea put on her clothes and went home. Flynn wanted her to move in, but he felt it was too soon to ask. He watched her leave and got to doing housework.


	29. Critical Missing

Monday Morning

Rusty got ready for school. He spent all of Sunday doing homework because he didn't get any work done on Saturday.

Sharon looked like her normal self. She drove him to school and went on her way to work. She started with basic paperwork, but then, there was a stabbing at the mall. The security guard was critically injured trying to break up some sort of dispute. A bunch of people got injured when they all tried to flee the mall. Major Crimes responded. Buzz got the video feeds from the security office. Sykes went to the hospital to check on the guard. Sanchez checked the gang chatter to make sure they had nothing to do with the fray. This mall had been a known battleground between the LA Jokers and the East Side Catorces. Flynn and Provenza were trying to calm down the crowd and pick out the people who had actually seen anything.

Sharon was coordinating with Taylor and Central Division as they were the closest to the mall.

Central was searching the perimeter to see if the knife had been tossed.

Flynn and Provenza got a bunch of descriptions, which wasn't suprising since witness id's are often not reliable. They aren't paying close attention until something bad happens, and by that time, they panic. They were trying to get names of the people in the fight. Either no one knew or no one would say.

Raydor put all of the local hospital fights on notice that there may be a knife victim coming in and to call the police if one arrived to provide protection. The victim might be attacked again. She didn't tell them that they were looking for an assailant. She wanted to make sure the hospitals cooperated.

It was a local crime with no known federal implications, so Agent Howard was sitting this one out.

Buzz got the tape and ran it on his camera for the Captain to see. It showed a man and a woman walking. They got confronted by a man coming from the opposite direction. The two men fought, the man with the woman winning the fight. The loser retreated but came back with a knife and slashed the other guy. The two men wrestled on the ground. A guard tried to break it up. He got stabbed in the neck, and the woman ran away. It showed the crowd disbursing. A woman stopped to apply pressure to the guards neck.

That woman was Ms. Jacobs. She didn't see the fight. She just saw the man on the ground after the fracas. She stayed until the guard was taken by the paramedics. She left a statement with Central Division and went home.

The Hospital

Sykes and Sanchez waited for him to get out of surgery and to wake up, so they could ask him some questions.

They asked the doctor how he was doing. The surgery was successful, but he lost a lot of blood. They were going to give him a transfusion later that day.

The guard was unmarried, and lived alone. He was an immigrant from Ghana and had just gotten the job two weeks ago.

Sanchez asked him questions. "Did you see the face of the man who stabbed you?"

"Not really. I was facing the man he was trying to stab. That guy had a tattoo of a hummingbird on his neck, on his right side. I tried to grab the knife. The man with the tattoo hit the man with a knife, and the knife went into my neck. I tried to get help, but I just collapsed. I woke up here."

Sanchez called the sketch artist and told her of the tattoo. "Do you remember anything else about the man with a tattoo?"

The guard was quiet for a minute. "He had a scar on his cheek, on his right side. I didn't see too much of his left side."

"You've been very helpful," Sykes told him. "Get some rest."

They went back to the squad room. They didn't talk. Neither of them liked this case.

After watching a surveillance tape, Buzz found the knife. It had been tossed behind a décor wall in the mall. SID dusted it for prints. They also took the dna. Maybe the fighter's DNA would be on the knife. Tao took the best images they could get from the video of the fighters, the woman, and the closest people to the fight. He ran them all through facial recognition to see if they got any hits. There were none for the fighters or for the woman, but a boy watching the fight came up as a critical missing, being sought by the FBI. He called Fritz.

"Agent Howard, we got a hit on a critical missing child. He was at the mall during the stabbing." He sent Fritz an e-mail of the boy's name, Damien Cox, and the people who were closest to him. Agent Howard and a fellow agent were on their way.

The boy was the subject of a custody dispute between his paternal grandmother and his mother. The grandmother had custody, and the mother's boyfriend allegedly kidnapped the child a month ago. The mother claimed to know nothing. The boyfriend disappeared. They put a warrant out for his arrest, but he never resurfaced. The boy's father was dead. He was an FBI agent who got killed in the line of duty in Seattle, Washington. Apparently, his girlfriend, the boy's mother, was never the same after his death. She fell apart, got into drugs, in with the wrong crowd. The boy's grandmother took the child and called CPS.

Howard watched the surveillance tape. He saw a woman take the boy out the mall. There wasn't a good image of her face, but they could get her height, hair color, body type, etc. They started comparing the woman to known associates of the mother and her boyfriend. They didn't find a match. Fritz's heart was broken. He couldn't imagine what this boy had gone through. His father gone, his mother fell apart, he got taken from his grandmother and now, he witnessed a stabbing.

He punched the wall. They were so close to finding him and now, he's gone without a trace. Agent Jackson was just as mad. He felt like they all let Agent Morgan down. Captain Raydor came out. We put a bolo out for the boy. Every beat cop we have available is looking for a sign of him. We're checking red light cameras, traffic cameras, every publically accessible video feed, every train station, bus stop, etc.

Fritz sighed.

Prosecutor's Office

Gabriel had spent the weekend at Eliza's loft. He had to go home before work and change into a suit.

He came to work a little bit late, but the Chief didn't say anything.

Brenda was beginning to tie the threads together. Mikki told her that Sue was the officer from the restaurant, but she hadn't agreed to talk to her. Jackie found out that one of the officer's transferred because Branson propositioned his sister at a bar and tried to kiss her. When she turned him down, he got mad and started screaming at her. The brother got in between them and tried to get his sister out of there. Branson hit him from behind, causing him to crash into a barstool. His sister grabbed him and got out of there before he could retaliate. Jackie called the bar. The bartender remembered the whole thing. The bouncer who threw out Branson also remembered it. They both picked Branson out of a photo lineup.

Finally, Brenda had a whole story and independent witnesses.

Bobby's Work

They were having issues with the beams. The measurments weren't as specified by the manufacturer. Bobby spent his time yelling on the phone, trying to figure out if they could some how make this work. He had an angry client who didn't like the sound of delays, a board that didn't want to get stiffed on the bill and a flustered crew that didn't know what to do.

Bobby needed to get a grip. "Either you sent the wrong beams or your measurments on your website are off. We need these beams like yesterday, so if you don't get them here this week, we will replace you and you'll be paying all our expenses." He hung up the phone. He then started to delegate. He got one guy to look for a replacement, one person on the phone with the architect to see if anything could be done with these beams and someone in charge of scheduling to see how much it would cost and how long it would take to make up lost time.

He went to go kiss the client's ass and then to calm down the board. Who was going to calm him down?

Major Crimes.

Sharon was having a terrible day. She had to explain to an eldery couple in Ghana why their son was in critical condition at a hospital, when he just got the US to pursue a new life. He was an engineer in Ghana and was trying to save money to take the certificaiton test, so he could work in the States. She heard his whole life story. He was an award winning soccer player, helped develop a better well system so people could get clean water to their homes and promised his cousin that he could come visit him in LA when he got settled. She never felt so awful.

Fritz wasn't doing any better. He had to explain to a distraught grandmother that her boy had been seen, but no one knew he was missing until he was already gone. She didn't know how he got to LA. His mother had never been there before, and neither had his father.

Fritz worked all day, but he didn't get any new leads. They sent the photos to every store owner in the mall, hoping someone had seen them and could say who she was. Hobbes was working on a warrant to get the credit card transactions from every female that had been in the mall for the day of the shooting. She was having some trouble. The warrant would involve the information of hundreds of people and it would be hard to figure out which woman was who. They would have to look up everyone. The warrant might be denied and even if approved it might lead no where.

She called an old friend, a former classmate in law school, for advice

"Hey, Johnny. It's Andrea. I'm in a bind, and I was wondering if I could get some advice."

"Hey girl. I can try. Let me hear it."

Andrea told him the sordid story starting with the stabbing and ending with the missing boy.

"Every woman that day is probably overbroad. Why don't you start with an age estimate and within an hour of the stabbing and the stores that were around the fight. You need a warrant to compell the credit card companies, but the stores might cooperate with you."

"That's a great idea. You're the best."

"I try. Good luck finding that kid."

Andrea got to work. She called the mall manager. They sent the employees home and closed the mall after the stabbing, but he said he could get the credit card information now. He e-mailed a list of every woman who bought anything with a credit card in the hour before the stabbing. They had a lot of names but these could be cross-checked

Sanchez went through the gang photos. No one had a hummingbird tattoo. No one came into to hospital with stab wounds, which meant either they didn't get seriously hurt or they were hiding out. Sykes stayed in contact with the hospital. The guard went in for his blood transfusion.

Tao found images of the fighters and sent them to all of the local high schools, community colleges and universities. One of the boys looked to be about 19. Tao was hoping he was a student or a former one and someone could id him.

Flynn and Provenza worked with Central Division chasing down tips. Buzz was studying the tape over and over looking for something. He was great at working the videos, but he wasn't a detective. He didn't know how to find the suttle details that turned a case.

Brenda and Fritz's place.

Bobby called, saying he would be running late. He had a rough day at work. Brenda took it upon herself to make linguini and clams. She even washed the clams before she cooked them this time. She made a butter, garlic sauce and paid attention. She knew Bobby had a bad day and wanted to brighten his mood.

Fritz came home and threw his stuff down. He was beat and angry.

"Dinner's almost ready, Honey."

Fritz sat down, not saying a word.

"Honey?" She turned around. He looked grumpy. She knew he didn't like to share things when he was upset. She turned the food on low and came into the living room.

"What's wrong, Fritzi?"

He looked at her and wanted to speak but he was just red in the face. She sat down beside him and took his hand. "Is it work?"

He sighed. There was a stabbing at the mall, and the guard was fighting for his life in the hospital.

"That's awful." Brenda didn't know why a mall stabbing was FBI territory, but she didn't want to pry.

"That's not the worst of it. In the surveillance video was a boy who is a critical missing."

"What?"

"He was kidnapped a month ago. By the time the police recognized him, he was long gone, without a trace."

"Oh God! And to make things even better, his father was an agent, killed about 18 months ago in shootout. Poor guy didn't see it coming. Got out of his car and bam, he was gone."

Brenda could see the pain in his face. She took his hands in hers. She wanted to promise they would find the boy, and he would be safe but she couldn't. She had her fair share of missing children with Major Crimes. None of them made it back alive, killed by strangers or even their own parents. So much evil in the world. "If there's anything I or my team can do, you have us."

Fritz just fell into her arms.

Bobby came home. He smelled food and it was just like Brenda to put it on the stove and forget about it. He went to check on it and took out the clams. He turned and saw her consoling Fritz. He must have had a worse day than he did. Bobby set the table and finished making dinner.

Joel and Hunter could feel the anguish in the room. They just rested on the floor, feeling the feeling of defeat in the air.


	30. What Makes Her Tick

Fritz woke up early and was out the door before Brenda woke up. Bobby headed out early too, trying to get his project underway. Brenda woke up, fed Joel and took Hunter for a quick walk before she headed into to work. She informed her team about the stabbing and the missing boy. She sent Tommy and Jackie to help find the punks who left the guard to die. Brenda and Gabriel went looking for any signs of the boy. She canvassed the parks.

Gabriel called Eliza. "Hey, I have a question for you?"

"Shoot."

"If you had an 8 year boy who wasn't yours."

"Like, if I kidnapped him?"

"Maybe, or you adopted him through surrupticious means, like an underground adoption agency and you were hiding him in plain sight, where would you take him during the day?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't enroll him in school because he has no papers and he might tell someone who he is, but you aren't the type to leave him locked up. What would you do?"

"I would probably take him somewhere that you would expect to see lots of kids, so he wouldn't stick out, like an amusement park, or the beach or the zoo."

"Thanks. That really helped." Gabriel tried all three places. He sent the boy's photo to every amusement park within 50 miles. He tried the beaches and the zoos. No oen remembered seeing him that day."

The Neighborhoods

Jackie and Tommy talked to people all morning. No one remembered a boy with a hummingbird tattoo, but many teens said there was an abandoned lot where people that age would hang out, do other things. Jackie and Tommy wanted to check it out, but they didn't look like teens. They called the Chief. "Hey, do you know a teenager whom we could borrow?"

"We have a lead on a hangout spot and we need a teen to try and fit in and see if anyone knows anything."

Brenda thought of Rusty. "I would need to ask Captain Raydor for permission to take him out of school"

"We'll call her Chief."

"Well, allright but be careful."

They of course didn't call Sharon at all and went to his high school. They pretended to be Sharon's niece and nephew and called him out of class, saying Aunt Sharon was in the hospital. Rusty ran out, "Is she all right?"

"Oh we made it up."

"What! Who the hell are you guys?"

"Relax. We work for Chief Johnson. We need you to help us. We think we have a lead on the teens who stabbed the guard. Wanna make friends with some hoodlums?"

Rusty figured, why not? They went to the abandoned lot, but first, they messed up Rusty's clothes and bought him a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

He went in alone, smoking as he walked through the lot. There was a group of kids sitting around a trashcan fire.

"Who are you?" a man growled at him.

"I'm Harley," Rusty lied. "I heard there was a guy here who had good shit."

"What did you want to buy?" The girl was intrigued. White teens would pay a lot of money for junk shit.

"I heard there was a guy who carried Molly. I don't know his name. My friend got some good shit from him, said he had a bird tattoo on his neck."

"Xavier has Molly, and he's been holding out. That bitch." One guy was pissed off.

"Is he coming today?"

"Probably not today, or tomorrow. I heard he's lying low for a while."

"That's too bad. My friends woult have probably bought a lot."

"I know where you can find him," the girl said.

The guys looked at her crossly, but she didn't care. She was hoping for a finder's fee.

If you go to the red house about a quarer mile, that way. The paint is old and the shutters are falling apart. He stays there sometimes."

He smiled and thanked her.

"Can I bum a cigarette?"

He gave her one and got ready to leave.

"Hey, I got some grass. You want some."

Rusty didn't want to give himself away. "Can I get a dimebag?" Rusty paid and then he left.

He reported back to Jackie and Tommy. They called the Chief who tipped off Major Crimes. Central found the house. A woman lived their with her neice. The woman had a 20 year old nephew named Xavier.

They set up surveillance, waiting for the boy to come to the house. He came back on Thursday at about 3AM. They used thermal imaging to figure out who else was where. They saw a person sleeping on the 2nd floor and another person in the attic. Major Crimes and Central joined forces. They had officers waiting in the woods behind the house and officers parked on both sides of house about three houses away.

Sanchez gave the signal. They knocked on the door and waited. When there was no answer, they took out the door with a battering ram and swarmed the place. Officers went through every room, guns drawn. Xavier jumped out the window, but he was tackled by the officers waiting in the woods. The girl sleeping was the niece and the woman in the attic was the girl in the video. Everyone got hauled to the station.

The girl the boy wouldn't talk. The niece ran her mouth. X- which is what she called her cousin just started dated Eva about a month ago. She thought Eva was trouble, but X didn't listen. Her ex, Marco was really mad about it. He sent nasty sent messages to her phone. He was always threatening them and stuff. They got into a fight about two weeks ago. After the mall thing, Eva hid in the attic and X skipped town. He apparently ran out of money and came home to get some more before he left town again. Their aunt was working the graveyard shift at the convenience store. She knew he was in trouble, but she didn't ask why. She doesn't like knowing details.

Fritz wanted to interview the couple. "They won't talk," Sharon told him. "Not about the stabbing. Maybe they'll talk about the boy."

"Do you think they even know him?"

"Maybe they saw him."

Fritz went to talk to X. He said nothing. Fritz didn't want to waste his time, so he went to talk to Eva. "I didn't do nothing," she shouted. "Why have I been here for over an hour?"

"I'm not here for what you did. I'm here for him." Fritz showed her a picture of Damien.

"I didn't do nothing to the boy. I didn't even know he was standing there."

"What did you see?"

"He was there, all by himself in the corner. When I ran away, he was still there. Later, I saw this woman grab him."

"Can you describe her?"

"I can draw her. I take art classes." Fritz got her a pencil and paper. She produced a sketch of a woman with small beady eyes, big cheeks and a flat nose. She had crooked teeth.

"You noticed her teeth?"

"It looked like she didn't go to the dentist as a kid."

Agent Howard circulated the sketch through the FBI and gave it to every government agency in the state. He was afaid to use the media. They might find her that way, but she might panic and hurt the boy. He took the image to the mall and asked the store owners. A man remembered her. She bought two pretzel dogs and argued with him over the price. She didn't realize how high California's sales tax was.

They finally had a lead. She just got to California. Howard sent her sketch to the authorities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. She must have gotten the boy here through another state. He finally got a match.

Sherri Thompson, age 34 originally from Ohio, had speeding tickets in Oregon she didn't pay. He called the FBI office out there, and they promised to send everything they could find ASAP.

He finally had some hope.

Prosecutor's Office

Brenda sat in her office, drinking some coffee. She was proud of her team. They found the house. Now, to find this woman. Brenda watched her husband's interview with Eva. Maybe she was right. _I'm a woman, who grew up poor, in Ohio_, Brenda thought to herself. _How do I end up in California with a stranger's child?_ Maybe, I bought him from the mother? That doesn't make any sense. He's not a baby. He would know who he was. Maybe I stole him, but how and why? "Maybe I'm sterile," Brenda said aloud.

"Am I interrupting?"

Brenda just noticed there was someone her office. She looked up to see a woman.

"I could come back."

"No sit down. You are?"

"I'm Sue Humphries."

"Sue, Thank you for coming in."

"I don't know if this is a good idea."

"You're not alone. I record this conversation, okay?"

Sue nooded and took a deep breath and began her story. Her voice was low and it was hard to hear but Brenda listened carefully. She wrote it out, and Sue signed the statement when she was done.

"You don't think I'm going to get in trouble do you? If Branson finds out..."

"Don't worry about him anymore. We'll take care of this." Brenda meant that too. She just needed to find this boy first.

Sue thanked her and she left.

Brenda went back to thinking. Sterile didn't really add up. Why not just steal a newborn? Why steal an 8 year old? Brenda didn't know. Brenda went home and the question bothered her. In the middle of the night, she thought of something.

She called Fritz.

He was still working and to ignore the call. He wasn't coming home tonight, but maybe she neeed something.. He answered, "Hello."

"Do you think you could put me in contact with the FBI's psychologist, their profiler?"

"Can this wait I'm..."

"I think I have an idea about Sherri. If I can figure out why she took him, we can figure out where she is."

"She wanted to be a mother. She's probably sterile. Why else take a child?"

"Why an 8 year old stranger? Most women would steal a newborn, not an 8 year old who could identify her and knows who he is."

"I have no idea."

"Exactly, why we need a profiler?"

"I'll make the call first thing in the morning."

Brenda got a call from Dr. Jamison's office on Friday morning. She went to meet him there.

"Chief Johnson, please sit down."

"Thank you for your time."

"Thank you. You're here for an FBI case. You and your husband must be close. Not to many wives would be running leads for him."

Brenda got right to the chase. "What kind of woman kidnaps a young boy?"

"Maybe she can't have children."

"Why not take a newborn? Who steals an 8 year old?"

"It's not very logical, but the kidnapping was well thought out. Everyone thought it was the mother or the boyfriend, and she seems to be a total stranger." Dr. Jamison paused for a moment. "I have two ideas on this. Either she lost a boy when he was eight or she had a miscarrage/lost a baby eight years ago. She's using Damien to fill a void, to replace someone she lost, someone she can't protect anymore. With Damien, she gets a second chance."

Brenda wrote it down. "Where would she hide him?"

"She would try and recreate the circumstances where she lost the first child, a similar house or location."

"Thanks, Doctor." Brenda was on her way. She and her team looked for any sign of Sherri's baby. It wasn't easy at first. She didn't have him in a hospital. She was from a small town in Cleveland. Jackie suggested midwives. They found one who remembered Sherri. She had a beautiful baby boy in January of 2005. She handwrote a birth certificate, Donald Thompson, no listed father. Brenda, then looked through the death records. He died in April of SIDS. They called the doctor. He cited HIPPA and said he needed a warrant. Brenda wasn't having it. "Look, Sherri snapped. She kidnapped an eight year old trying to replace her dead baby, if we don't find her soon, she might snap and kill him. Then, you can call the poor boy's family and explain why you needed a warrant for a dead baby's records."

"Okay! Okay." He did not have the energy to deal with this woman.

The baby appeared to have died of a seizure. He showed no obvious signs of bruising or suffocation.

"Could he have been shaken?"

"I suppose. I'm no coroner, but I didn't see anything suspicious. The mother had medical issues, so maybe the boy did too."

"The mother?"

"She has NES, non-epileptic seizures."

"What causes that?"

"Usually stress from an underlying mental illness."

"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you, very much."

Brenda sent a request to every psychiatrist in the area where the boy was born. She said the woman may have been a patient of theirs, was wanted for kidnapping a young boy, and they needed any informationt that could help locate her or assess her mental state.

She then called her husband and relayed everything she had learned. "So this woman is mentally ill."

"And she gets seizures when she's stressed out. Maybe she had one after the stabbing."

"You're a genious Brenda." Fritz hung up the phone and rushed to get a hold of the hospitals.

Brenda now knew what it was like to be blown off for work, but she was rarely looking for a missing boy. Brenda sighed and got back to work.

The Hospital

The guard was full of laughs and smiles. He was just glad to be alive. Sykes came to visit him again. His transfusion took. The hospital wanted to watch his vitals one more day.

She was amazed that he was so upbeat. He was quite a character. She got him a pen and paper, so he could write a letter to his family.

Major Crimes

The squad couldn't find Marco anywhere. He seemed to be long gone. They tried his apartment, but his landlord evicted him out for not paying rent. He had no girlfriend, and they tried his friends, but he wasn't there. They used surveillance in case they were lying, but he didn't show up.

If only they could lure him back some how. They needed to know more about him, where could he be hiding.

Mercy Hospital had a report of a woman who had a seizure Monday evening. The paramedics were dispatched but the woman didn't want to come in for treatment. They called the paramedics who remembered seeing a boy. They got the address.

The FBI got a tactical team together, and sent a surveillance van. There was no one there yet, but hopefully she would return soon.


	31. Long Day is Over

Provenza was alone in the office. He was holding the fort in case something happened while they went to get the boy. He was ready to doze off when Eva came by.

"What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to someone."

"Is it about Mackey?"

"Marco."

"Tomato, Tom-ah-to. Grab a chair and we'll talk."

"He keeps threatnening me."

"Did he call you or come to see you?"

"Neither."

"What?"

"He doesn't threaten me, himself. He has his bitches do it."

"His bitches."

"He has a slew of girls who do his dirty work. They said if I talked to the cops, they'd take care of me."

"Where can we find these 'bitches'?"

"They sell crack behind the Exxon on 14th and Sepulveda."

They'll be there tomorrow probably around 11.

Provenza wrote it down. He needed someone to buy some crack. _Shouldn't be too hard?_

Sherri and Damien pulled into the driveway. Fritz wanted to grab the kid now, but they held off. They wanted to wait until they had some separation. The woamn opened the car door and got out. The boy got out on the other side. Sanchez was the diversion, playing basketball on a court across the street. He threw an errant pass, sending the ball across the lawn. The boy ran to grab it. The agents stormed in. "F-B-I" they shouted as they surrounded Sherri, pulling her to the ground and cuffing her. Damien tried to run away but Fritz grabbed him. "It's okay Damien. We're going to get you home."

"She said I don't have a home. She said grandma was dead, and I had to live with her now."

"Your grandma is fine."

They had to call the paramedics. Sherri had another seizure. They took her away in an ambulance. An agent followed the car. As soon as she was stable, she was going to jail.

Fritz finally had a good phone call to make. He called Damien's grandmother. When she answered, he put the boy on the phone.

"Hello."

"Damien, you're okay." She was crying.

"Don't cry Grandma. I'm on my way home. The FBI said they're going to bring me home."

"I'm going to be on the first flight to LA."

Damien handed the phone to Fritz. "Grandma wants to talk to you."

"He's just fine. He's in good health, and he will be with us until you get here."

Fritz sighed of relief. "Finally, it's all over."

Bobby got out of work, ready to blow off some steam. He headed to the bar and got drunk with his colleagues. This was quite a week. He had to threaten to cancel his contract to get the manufacturer to overnight the correct beams. They were still arguing over damages, but that could be fixed. Bobby hired some temp workers to help get them caught up. _At least some guys can get some work out of this._

Bobby skipped the beer and went straight for the tequila. Shots for everyone. He bought the first round. After a few, they were all in the mood to party. Some were chatting up the ladies. Others were telling their best bar stories, past fights, crazy exes, near death encounters.

Bobby didn't even notice when Branson and his goons came in. Bobby was loud. He hopped up on a stool and made a toast. "So I had a crap week at work," he announced to the bar. "If I wasn't yelling, I was yelled at. I was ready to rip out my hair, but it's Friday. Time to party. Let's do some shots!" Everyone cheered, and people did shots. Who doesn't want shots after a speech inspiring you to drink?

Branson rolled his eyes. _This fool again_. Bobby walked over to a group of women in their mid-30s. "You're missing all the action."

"We are?" They found this guy amusing, even if he seemed to be a bit of a fool.

"Of course. The tequila is this way." He led them to his group. The guys readily bought them drinks. People were flirting, laughing, dancing, eating. Everyone was having fun.

Branson hated seeing people he didn't like having fun. His thugs decided to put him in his place. One of them bumped Bobby as he walked by. Bobby paid him no mind. It was a bar. People bump. Bobby ordered a shot. The guy snatched him and downed it.

"That was my shot," Bobby spun the guy around. "You." They got into a heated argument. He refused to pay, and he spit on Bobby, so Bobby pinned him to the bar and took his wallet. He took $5 and threw the wallet in the air. It magically landed in the light fixtutre above.

Bobby cracked up. "Didn't think I'd actually get that up there." The other punk grabbed Bobby from behind. He held Bobby's arms, and the first guy got a couple of punches in, but he didn't expect Bobby to escape so quickly. Bobby grabbed him and headbutted him, putting the fool in a daze. Bobby's crew saw the fracas, and they readily jumped in, grabbing both guys and ejecting them from the bar. Branson made an exit during the fight. He knew when he was outnumbered.

The team was ecstatic to have found a boy, alive and well. They went out for drinks. Fritz and Agent Jackson took Damien to get some ice cream. Brenda was at home, relieved the case was over and was watching tv, when she got a call from Taylor.

"Hello, Chief Taylor. I put together some complaints on Branson, but I redirected my team to look for Damien."

"I'm not calling about that, well not exactly. We have a problem. There's an officer in the hospital."

"That's terrible. What happened?"

"That's the thing. Allegedly, your brother knocked him unconscious."

"What? Bobby wouldn't attack a police officer."

"Apparently, Bobby has a problem with this one. Allegedly, Bobby stole his wallet and then broke his nose."

"That's crazy. He's no thief."

"I said allegedly. The officer's partner filed the complaint, so I assumed there might be some puffery, but I thought you should know. Can you find him and get him to turn himself in? I'd rather not have to put out a warrant."

Brenda sighed. "I'll find him." She called her brother. Of course he was drunk. She told him not to go anywhere, and she would come get him.

When she got to the bar, he reeked of booze. She got him some water. "Come on, Bobby. We need to go now."

She lead him to the car and drove him to in and out. She got him a 3x3 animal style and a large fries. She also got him some gum.

He sobered up a bit by the time he got to the station. "I'm going in there with you. Don't say anything."

"I wanna tell my side."

"No, you don't. The guy you hit is unconscious, and they're looking to press assault charges."

"But he robbed me and he hit me first."

"Just once. Please, Bobby, just once, listen to me."

"Okay, Okay."

"Say it expressly and don't revoke."

"I got it Bren-DA" He sounded even drunker.

She brought him to Taylor's office. Major Crimes was celebrating and Taylor didn't want to call them in for this mess. He had an officer waiting.

"I invoke my right to silence," Bobby said, before he asked anything. Taylor looked at Brenda. She promised to bring him there. She didn't promise he'd talk.

The officer spoke. "That's my que."

"Where are you going?"

"I can't talk to him."

"Why won't your brother talk?"

"Because an officer is in the hospital, and his partner made up a ridiculous story to save their own asses."

"Are you suggesting this officer is lying?"

"If your partner started a fight and lost it, would you cover for him?"

Taylor didn't answer. He knew how it was.

"There were plenty of witnesses. Most of them neutral. I'm sure if you talk to them, you'll see the real story."

They did just that. The bartender said the guy stole Bobby's shot and spit on him. They got into it and it was basically a two on one. Bobby just won it. The girls at the bar basically said the same thing.

Taylor sighed. "What a stupid case! You're free to go."

"You did great, Bobby."

"But I didn't say anything."

"I know. Let's go home."

"Can I get something to eat?"

"Sure."

Friday night was pretty tame. Damien went to Agent Jackson's house for the night. His grandmother would be there first thing in the morning. Fritz came home to find Brenda and Bobby just getting in. "I'll explain in the morning," she told him. He just pulled her into his arms. "We couldn't have done it without you." She smiled and they went to bed. Sharon passed out at home. Tomorrow, she would deal with Marco's bitches. Today, she would sleep. Flynn and Andrea slept in their own homes. Gabriel went to Eliza's, but they just rested. He was exhausted from that week.


	32. Adios!

Sykes dressed up like she was from the neighborhood. She went up to the girls and bought some crack. She walked away, disappearing into the neighborhood, and she met up with Tao. He took his indicator solution, and the prelim test showed cocaine. Sanchez, Flynn and Provenza arrested the girls and took them all to the station. They all got put in separate rooms and mirandized.

"I got Fourth Amendment rights," one girl yelled. "These charges ain't shit."

Raydor rolled her eyes. _This was going to be great._

"If you want me to help you, then you need to tell me the truth."

"Who says I want help from a white girl?"

"You got caught dealing. That's a felony. If you cooperate, then this will be better for you."

"I ain't admitting to shit."

"Where's Marco?"

"Who?" The girl was clearly lying. Sharon had no time for this fool, so she left her alone. Tao was going through their cell phones. They got confiscated when they were arrested. Two of them had passwords, so he needed to download the information and find a way to open it, but one girl had no password at all. Tao started reading. Marco was hiding somewhere near abandoned train tracks. Tao looked it up. This was a lot of ground. He needed a way to narrow it down. He read the messages, but they just kept referring to old tracks. They brought him money and stuff.

Sharon tried the next girl. She cut straight to the chase.

"Here's the deal. You can go down for being crack dealer or you can help yourself."

"How?"

"Where's Marco?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I'm no snitch."

"Are you ready to go to prison for him?"

"For what?"

"An accessory to murder?"

"He didn't murder nobody."

"The guard he stabbed, he died." Sharon hoped this lie would work.

"But he didn't mean to stab him."

"But he ran. He's facing a murder charge and anyone who helps him is facing an accessory after the fact, that's 20 years easy."

"That's not fair."

"You have a choice. Turn in Marco or go down for his crime." Sharon played the same game with suspect number 3. Buzz helped Tao imbed tracking devices in their backpacks. Then, Raydor cited the two girls, and cut them loose. She left suspect 1 to stew, suspecting she was the ring leader.

Suspect number 2 went home. Suspect number 3, however, called Marco soon after getting out. Tao traced the call. He found the cell phone tower where Marco was, and officers went to the scene. He was gone, but they knew to watch the tracks for another meeting.

Suspect number 3 got some cash out of a dugout and waited until nightfall. She went out to the tracks. Marco emerged from the darkness. They watched him with night vision goggles. Provenza stubbed his toe on something. "OW!" he yelped.

Marco heard the sound. "Did you rat me out, Bitch?"

"No, I brought the money like you wanted."

He pulled out a pistol. "Who's out there? Speak now, or she gets it."

She screamed. "LAPD, Drop your weapon!" He lined up his sights. Sanchez took the shot, hiting his shoulder. The cops swarmed the scene, got the girl out of there and put a torniquet on Marco's arm. They took him to the hospital and posted a guard outside his room. He was going to jail for a long time.

Taylor hit his head on the desk. He thought it was all over. The guard left the hospital. The boy was found. No one got arrested after the bar fight, but no, an FID investigation because Provenza stubbed his toe. "That old bastard!"

Branson got called to the scene to everyone's chagrin, demanding to know why the victim wasn't left there to be interviewed.

"We took him to the hospital." Flynn answered, _Duh! You idiot_.

"And who's call was that?"

"I think it's the law, Captain Branson." Tao responded. "If we waited for you, he could have bled out. We would have been sued for negligence."

"Leave the lawsuits to me."

"Going to inspire one." Provenza snickered.

"Where's Sanchez!"

"With his union rep." Sanchez had taken the shot before. He knew the drill. Don't say anything until your rep tells you to.

Branson loved to yell, but no one on Major Crimes was taking the bait.

Captain Raydor was glad to hear that the assailant had been caught. X had been released. It was basically self-defense. He hid from the police, but without an underlying crime, they had to cut him loose.

Sue interviewed Sanchez at the station. Mikki said he was a good guy. She didn't know him. "Can you tell me what happened, Detective."

Sanchez looked at his rep, who nodded. "We were sent to detain a fugitive. He had an arrest warrant out for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, public disturbance, and inciting a panic in a public place. We found out he had plans to skip town, and a girl was supposed to give him money. We followed her to the location, and we waited. He spotted an officer and pulled out a gun, threatening to shoot the girl. We announced ourselves and told him to drop the weapon. Instead, he lined up his sights. I took the first clear shot."

"So he didn't shoot first."

"No, but he was too close to her to try and ambush him. I shot him in the shoulder, so he'd have to drop the gun."

"And you feel that was an appropriate use of force?"

"When there's an imminent threat to a civilian, yes."

"What did you do next, Detective?"

" I surrendered my weapon once the threat was over."

"Which was, when?"

"When he dropped the gun, and they got it away from him and the girl was out of harm's way."

"I came straight here and met with my union rep."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, mam."

"Hopefully, this will all be resolved soon." Sue left. She wrote down Sanchez's statement and sent it to Chief Taylor. He asked her to interview Sanchez first. He wanted to see how Branson did.

Chief Taylor asked Sanchez and his union rep to indulge him and let Branson interview him.

"He already told FID what happened," said the union rep.

"I know, but this isn't about Sanchez."

"It's about Branson," the rep surmised.

"Yes, so just pretend Sue never interviewed you."

They sat down with Branson

"Where the hell have you been?"

"In the station."

"In the station, Captain. Now why the hell did you shoot that poor kid?"

"You mean the man who stabbed a security guard in the neck while trying to kill his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend who has a gang a women selling crack for him in alleys and threatened to shoot of them right in front of us. I shot him to prevent him from murdering her."

"You couldn't have tackled him."

"Tackling a man holding a pistol point blank at a woman is not a wise move."

"So you thought risking his life was a better option."

"I thought shooting him in the shoulder was the least lethal option for all involved."

"Really. You just wanted to kill him didn't you, and you missed, was that it?"

Sanchez didn't dignify that with a response.

The questioning went on like this. Branson got more abbrasive by the minute, but Sanchez refused to answer any more questions.

The rep had enough. "This interview is over."

He took Sanchez and left. Branson wrote a nasty report, suggesting Sanchez was hostile, openly disliked the victim and should be investigated further. He didn't know Taylor watched the whole thing nor that Sanchez had already cooperated in another interview.

The rep told Taylor he wanted to file a complaint against Branson for his unprofessional behavior. Taylor handed him a form.

"You knew he would act like this."

"I had a suspicion." Taylor was one step closer to getting rid of this jerk.

Marco admitted nothing, but his fingerprints matched the knife. Eva agreed to testify against him, and so did the girl he threatened to shoot. He was going away for a long time.

Sunday Morning.

Agent Jackson brought Damien to the airport and they picked up his grandmother. They gave each other the world's biggest hug and Jackson took them both to brunch. After they ate, Jackson went over the case with the grandmother. "The woman who did this is mentally ill. She has been for a long time. She will either end up in jail or in a mental hospital. She will not be free.

"Why did she do it?"

"She lost a baby boy eight years ago and wanted a replacement."

The grandmother pulled Damien to her.

Sharon's house

Rusty was glad the pipsqueak was ok. He didn't even want to think about life if he had been out of a home at eight years old. He wasn't on the street, but Rusty didn't deem living with a bat-shit-crazy woman constituted much of a home.

Monday Morning

Brenda was ready to throw the book at Branson. She now had three confirmed different instances of his conduct. She really wanted to take out the two goons as well. "Now, how do I do that?" she thought. They know me and my brother, but they might talk to Sharon.

"Hey, Sharon, Can you do me favor?"

"Brenda, what is it?"

"I need you to investigate a simple assault."

"A simple assault."

"Yes. A man got headbutted at the bar."

"You think this is a Major Crime?"

Sanchez couldn't work during the investigation, not that there was anything to do at this point. He stayed home and did the yardwork he had been putting off.

Bobby was trying to get everything caught up at work. His new workers arrived that day, so he needed to get them used to the place.

Fritz got Monday off. He slept for a good while. He needed some sleep.

Brenda got right back to work on her case. Against the three stooges, she had enough to bring a case for two counts of assault, sexual harassment, harrasment, obstructing justice, filing two false police reports. She really wanted to prove they vandalized the cars. She had an idea.

She called her brother.

"Hey, Bobby! Can you do me a favor after work?"

Brenda called Buzz.

"Hey, can I borrow you today?"

Florida

Clay enjoyed the nice warm weather of Florida. He got to relax in the sun. His grandkids were all in school and Jr. was at work, the Mrs. was shopping, leaving him at home, alone to drink some coffee and read the paper.

_Ring Ring_

Now who could that be? "Hello."

"Grandpa?"

"Charlene, how are you?"

She sighed. "I'm good Grandpa."

"You've been keeping up with school."

"Yes, Grandpa." It was mostly true, other than her ratchet English class.

"Do you need any money?"

"I'm good Grandpa."

"Have you talked to Dad?"

"Not, recently. Does he need money?"

"Not, yet. Not until he gets taken to the cleaners."

"Do you think your parents could reconcile?"

"It depends, what are the odds that he gets castrated?"

"Charlene."

"Seriously, Grandpa. Dad got in his car and drove across the country. I can't think of a more emphatic way of ending a marriage."

"I guess you're right."

"Anyway, Mom's got a new boyfriend."

"Already."

"Yeah, he's an entrepeneur."

"He sells horse manure?" Clay was confused.

"Basically. He goes around trying to get money from rich people to do various projects promising them he'll make them more money but he ends up selling them manure."

"How did you find out?"

"Aunt Jill told me." Joyce's sister had a love/hate relationship with Joyce, as in she loved to hate her. Joyce for some reason told Jill many secrets, not knowing Jill told them as soon as she could.

"Well, don't get too caught up in it. Worry about school."

"Yes, Grandpa. Do you think I could come down to Florida and visit during the spring?"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Fine with me. Call your uncle."

"Ok. Love you Grandpa."

"Love you too, Charlene."

Major Crimes

Sharon went down to FID to speak to tweedles dee and dumb. "We can't tell you anything about Sanchez."

"I'm not here for him."

"You're not."

"I got a report of an assault on Friday."

"Oh yes."

They retold their made up story, not realizing they were accusing her boyfriend. Sharon wrote it all down. She said that he lawyered up, but they would be able to make their case soon enough.

Bobby showed up to the police station. He came with a busted up truck from the job. He did as Brenda asked, made a giant banner insulting the three musketeers. Bobby wrote " Branson is a bitch" on one side and "His two butt pirates are digging for gold on the other." Bobby honked loudly as he drove the car around the lot. He made a big scene so that people would come out and see it. Once he got enough attention, he took the car into the street. He parked it around the corner and left the truck.

"That was fun," Bobby thought.

Once the sun started to set, the two ninnies went to find the car. They vandalized it the same way they had that poor officer. Brenda had it all on tape. Buzz got a great view of their faces.

The next day, Brenda called everyone in FID into work, execpt the three dingbats. She asked the three former members to come. She announced who she was and she announced her team. "Eyes closed." She asked if anyone had been mistreated by Branson. At first, no one raised their hands.

Brenda started to list off the allegations, cursing and berating officers in public, running up drinks on other people's tabs, dining and dashing leaving others to foot his bill, threatening officers who asked for their money back, harassment, sexual harassment, assault.

Again, she asked, had anyone had a problem with Branson. One by one, all of the hands went up. "Open your eyes." Everyone saw everyone else putting down their hands. She gave them each a card and told them to check if any of those things had happened to them, and she left an other column. It wasn't long before they filled them out. Brenda tallied them. He apparently had dined and dashed at least 4 times, ran up drinks 7 times, 18 complaints of general harassment, 3 complaints of sexual harassment, and 5 assault complaints.

She then asked if anyone had a problem with the two goons. Everyone started talking right away. "One at a time." She got her confessions. They ate other people's food in front of them. They gave wedgies, tripped people walking, cat-called at women, many people complained items were stolen from their desk. "Anyone have car trouble?" She got a bunch of stories. Gas missing out the car, tires flattened, etc.

She advised them that they could seek HR to address their greviences. There was practically a stampede to the door. On top of the 6 cases she already had, another 24 appeared. She was ready to report to Taylor.

"30 complaints against them?"

"Yes."

"And they're all legit."

"They had a pattern. They would do the same terrible things across the board. For some of these cases, we have independent witnesses who picked Branson out of a lineup"

"You put him in a lineup?"

"A photo array."

Taylor called the three into his office.

"We need to talk."

First, they denied any wrong doing and demanded union reps. They arrived and then Brenda came into the room. She had a huge stack of papers and a flash drive. First, they saw the two dummies vandalizing a car and fleeing the scene. Brenda threw down the complaints from everyone who had a car vandalized. Then, she thrw down a photo array and witness statements of people who saw Branson attack an officer from behind. Then, she showed them the giant stack of cards she collected. The credit card charges from the tabs he ran up, the time he dined and dashed.

"This monkey show is over."

It didn't take long before the two twits were blaming each other and then they both started blaming Branson. Branson kept denying everything.

Taylor suspended them all immediately. They could either negotiate their resignation or begin their "trial." Maybe, they could get severence pay if they resigned by the end of the week, maybe.

Brenda left. That was over. FID watched, eating popcorn as Branson packed up his desk. His croonies followed, none of them speaking. As soon as they left the door, everyone started cheering.

Sue grabbed Brenda and gave her a big hug. "Thank you so much."

"Your Welcome."


	33. Fucking Wild!

The rest of the week was pretty normal. Damien, and his grandmother went home after going to Disneyland. Apparently, his mother checked into rehab after he went missing, and she's been doing pretty well. They talked on the phone, and she promised to visit when she was out.

The FID case against Sanchez was over. The guard was back at the mall, and they changed their protocols and added more guards.

Sherri was arraigned and had a public defender appointed to her. She threw a hissy fit during the arraignment, so the judge ordered her to get a competency hearing. She had been insisting that Damien was really Donald, and he was her son. The doctor was right. The house where they were found was just like the one she had in Ohio. She bought it a year ago and changed the paint and the interior so it would all match. She was really sick.

Marco was out of the hospital and in jail. Now, he wanted a deal.

Bobby's crew got the job done, and they were back on schedule.

The two cronies resigned to avoid getting indicted for their various offenses, and they were on their way to find a new city to torment. Branson hired a high priced lawyer. He really wanted to get Goldman, but he's suspended for chasing a woman into the street causing her to get hit by a car. She refused to testify for his client, and he was trying to make her cooperate.

Pope was schmoozing with the mayor as usual. He hadn't been paying much attention to what LAPD actually did, but he was the first to get it in the papers hat they helped find a missing boy.

Rumor has it that the rest of IA got much nicer to their staff/subordinates once Branson was given the boot. Brenda had a feeling their IA problems were over.

Amy dragged Sue back to the same restaurant. This time, dinner was perfect.

Sharon and Bobby had another date. Bobby hadn't told her, but he was taking her to a beach house that he rented for the weekend. He conspired with Rusty to pack a bag for her with all of her essentials. Brenda helped Bobby pick out wine and plan a menu. They did the food shopping, and she helped him pick out candles, mood music etc. She wanted to get him out of the apartment, so she and Fritz could be alone. She did everything she could to make sure he got this right.

Bobby got to work early and left early. He drove straight to the beach house and cleaned it. He made braised short ribs, chopped the potatoes, so he could mash them, peeled cut the asparagus, and mad a mix for crab cakes. The day before, he and Brenda made truffles. Brenda might have eaten more than she made, but she helped him make some good ones: white chocolate raspberry, chocolate-baileys, toasted coconut and lime. He took Hunter for a walk and put her in the guest room of the house with a water dish.

He took a quick shower, changed into a khaki pants and a blue polo shirt and drove to Sharon's house.

FBI Office

Friday morning, Fritz was reading his book. He really liked the idea of getting a swing, but he didn't see how they could install that into the apartment. He looked up a manufacturer and asked him if there was a way to install it and remove it without the landlord finding out. He said, probably not, but you could probably rent a place with one for a while. "What kind of place?" Fritz asked. "A dungeon." When you make sex swings, you get used to all kinds of questions. "You can rent those?" Fritz had an idea. He knew what he was going to be doing with Brenda on Saturday. He called up a local place. They had a private suite for Saturday night 9PM-9AM. A swing was an extra $25. Fritz gladly agreed to pay it and they had a deal.

The Marina

Andrea's sister was in town. She and her husband were having a party on their yacht, well the one they rented, but pretended they owned. Andrea didn't want to go, but she would never hear the end of it, so she invited Flynn.

The party was dry and boring. Everyone talked about their expense accounts, mergers, acquisitions and occasionally, someone brought up a charity. Andrea always had a scotch in hand. Flynn noticed a group of women who kept hiding in this one room. They would come back with bigger pupils and would giggle. He guessed this was a coke party. His arms slipped around Andrea's waist. "Come to the deck with me?"

She leaned into his chest. "I'm sorry, I dragged you here. You must be miserable."

"I like it."

"Really? Why?"

"I'm with you. We could be here, jail, a ditch in the desert. Doesn't matter."

"Really?" She was beaming.

"Yeah," He rested his head on the curve between her neck and her shoulder. "Now, let's have some fun," he whispered.

They snuck into the secret room and locked the door. Flynn took Andrea's hands and put them on the wall. He stood behind her and began to push up her dress and push her panties out of the way. It wasn't long before he was inside her. She bit her lip to stay quiet, but it was quite a challenge. Flynn wanted to be able to embrace her. He pulled out, spun her around, picked her up and went back inside, her back on the wall, his head on her neck. She wrapped her arms around his back, and he began to thrust again. They kissed and moaned into each other as they enjoyed themselves.

The girls came back for another bump up. To their chagrin, the room was in use. They waited and waited, but they were not going to get in anytime soon. They left and went to the bar.

Another couple also thought they could get in the room for some private time, but they were unsuccessful.

Andrea's brother in law came to figure out what all of the hullabaloo was with this little room. He waited and waited.

"Oh God! Oh God! Flynn." Andrea was pressed up against his ear. The scotch made her very relaxed and Flynn's prowess made her very excited. The contrast was driving her crazy. She started to cum, and he soon followed. Flynn threw away the evidence in the trash. They left the room, almost knocking over Andrea's brother-in-law.

"What were you doing in there?" His arms were folded across his chest.

"Enjoying the view," she seethed as she took Flynn up to the top.

Andrea's sister spotted them and started introducing them to various people "Andrea, you remember Jamie..." Andrea didn't remember any of these people. They all looked the same to her. She smiled and shook hands and said of course.

Street Corner

Eliza took Gabriel to a random street, blindfolded. "You can take it off now."

"You brought me to a street corner. Is my surprise a girl named Bubbles?"

"David!" she gently punched his arms.

"It's not a man named Bubbles," he ribbed her.

"No, look."

Gabriel looked at the wall. The artist from the church was back with a new work. "It's him. He's back."

Gabriel was excited. He never knew he could like graffiti so much. They went exploring the neighborhood. There were all kinds of art. Some depicted feuds from the past. Some were feuds between the artists. Some were one shot deals. Others evolved over time. Some people painted to bridge existing art into one continuum.

Eliza liked that art touched him so much. She slipped her arms around his waist and leaned on him. He pulled her towards his chest, as he took in the scene. They toured the neighborhood, turning random street corners into their own gallery.

Brenda was snooping in Fritz's closet, taking a peek at the toys he had used on her earlier. She wanted this weekend to be lots of fun. She found the store where Fritz had been and looked around. She saw a leather corset that she had to have. She also saw this weird looking jewelry. It was just a string of beads, No way to connect it?

"Can I help you?" A woman appeared, long black hair, tattoos all over her arm. She fit right in.

"I don't know what I want."

"Do you know what you like?"

Brenda blushed. "I like being tied up." _I can't believe I just said that._

"So you're a sub?"

"A what?"

"Never mind." She grabbed a basket and starting throwing in toys. "Some beads, a harness, a ball-gag, and a dildo with a long stick."

Brenda looked confused by that one.

"Trust me, it will come in handy."

Brenda took the stuff and left. She went home and put them alongside the items Fritz already bought.

For tonight, she planned on dinner in a little bistro. Afterwards, who knows?

Sharon's house.

Sharon put on a sundress and a light sweater. She wished Bobby had said where they were actually going. He just said dress comfortably and he'd pick her up at 6:30. Rusty grabbed the bag he had packed for her and brought it around to the car. He slipped it into the trunk. Bobby had his truck this time. He took a lot of stuff to the beach house and needed the space.

He rang the doorbell. Sharon came to greet him. "Hey, Bobby."

He swiftly kissed her and wrapped his arms around her. "You look marvelous."

She smiled. "So where are we going?"

"You'll see. See you later Rusty." Bobby called out.

Rusty was glad they were going. Kyle was coming over at 8.

Bobby drove Sharon to the beach house. She thought it was a restaurant. Some of the old beach houses have been converted into bistros. He took her around the back where she saw a beautifully set table outside, flowers and a beautiful sun that was going to set.

"What is this?"

"It's for us. I rented it for the weekend."

"The weekend, but I didn't bring..."

"Rusty packed you a bag."

"That little devil. I was wondering why I couldn't find any of my stuff."

"Sorry." He smiled. "Please be seated. Dinner will be here shortly." Bobby went inside. He put the potatoes in boiling water and preheated the stove to warm up the ribs. He poured two glasses of wine and brought them out. He handed Sharon her glass and he sat down with her. They toasted and drank. She was still in awe that he did all this. "You haven't seen nothing yet." He went back to the kitchen, seared the crab cakes in butter. He let them rest, and he strained the potatoes. He served the crab cakes with some fresh greens on the side and an aoili sauce. He then quickly returned to the kitchen so he could put some milk, butter, chives, garlic salt and pepper in with the potatoes. He heated them all together and returned to eat with Sharon.

They watched the sunset. She told him about her crazy week at work, the stabbing, the missing boy, the harassment suit. "You interrogated the knuckleheads?"

"Yeah. They probably wouldn't have agreed to talk to me if they knew I was your lady." They laughed about the silliness of the whole event, and Bobby stole a kiss before he went to the kitchen. He quickly seared the asparagus in olive oil, added some salt and pepper and some sliced almonds to toast.. He mashed the potatoes. He refilled the wine and then came back with two beautifully plated dinners. He had been watching the food network.

"This is amazing." She took a big bite of the short rib. "Oh that's fantastic."

"A man ought to know his meat."

"This is divine." They ate and Bobby told Sharon about his work week. He told her his side of the fight.

Sharon shook her head. _How did these clowns get jobs as officers?_

Bobby cleared the table. Sharon tried to help, but he insisted. He returned with the last of the wine. They watched the moon rise and heard Hunter barking.

"Oh boy I'll be back."

_He brought his dog?_

Hunter ran out the door and sat down on the deck. She watched the moon intently.

Bobby washed his hands and returned to the table. "Brenda said I had to take her with me."

Sharon laughed.

Bobby returned with Irish coffees and dessert.

"These truffles are to die for." Sharon was in heaven. This guy was amazing. If she could eat like this, she might have to keep him.

He watched her lips as the wrapped around the sweet goodness. He had plenty of plans for that mouth. Tonight, she was all his.

Sharon's House

Rusty and Kyle ate pizza and played video games. Rusty didn't have a console, so Kyle brought his PS3. They played melee over and over again.

"Your toast Kyle."

"That's what you said last time."

After a few rounds, they went to Rusty's room. Rusty went to hang up his jacket. He didn't even remember the dime bag that fell out of his pocket.

"Where'd you get this?"

"Oh! A long story. Some teens in this abandoned lot."

Kyle didn't ask any further. He smelled it. "Not the best product, but it's pretty decent. $20"

"I paid $10."

"Mmmh!" Kyle ground it up and rolled it into a joint.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"If Sharon finds out..."

"She's not here."

"She has a nose."

"We'll go to my car. Chill."

Rusty didn't know if this was a good idea, but he didn't want to seem like a dweeb.

They went to Kyle's car and they stayed it the parking lot.

"You want to stay here?"

"You want to drive. Fine"

Kyle cracked the window and started the car. He drove to a dirt road by an abandoned building. He closed the window and lit the grass. He took a puff and slowly exhaled it. He took another puff and passed it to Rusty. Kyle leaned back, not really watching anything. Rusty took a hit.. He just coughed it out. "There's water in the backseat." Kyle told him, taking the joint back. Rusty drank it. That wasn't his idea of fun.

Kyle took another hit. You have to relax. The THC acted quickly. Rusty felt a little more calm. Kyle returned the joint. Rusty tried it again. This time, it wasn't so bad. A few minutes later and it was all gone. Kyle threw the last bit out the car.

"This car reeks," Rusty told him.

Kyle took out a baby air purifier. It plugged into the cigarette lighter of the car. Kyle turned on the car and drove around for a while. Rusty hadn't thought of the logistics of leaving the house. He didn't think Kyle should be driving high. Kyle was surprisingly attentive. He drove at a normal speed, obeyed the traffic rules and pulled into the driveway.

"If Sharon smells my clothes..."

"Let's do laundry worry, wort."

They threw their clothes in the hamper, which all went into the washer machine right away. Kyle grabbed Rusty and pulled him into the shower. The hot water hit them, stunning Rusty. Kyle covered him in soap and washed him from head to toe. Rusty liked the attention he was getting. He closed his eyes and enjoyed Kyle's work. Kyle led him out of the shower, and his bedroom. Rusty lied down, ready to just chill. Maybe, he wanted more pizza.

Kyle had different plans. He straddled Rusty's chest, offering him his dick. Rusty began sucking. Kyle thrusted vigorously. Weed had a way of amping up his sex drive. Rusty was in for a long night.

It wasn't long until Kyle was spent, and Rusty had him on all fours. He mounted him from behind and got to work. They spent the next hour in bed, taking turns sucking and fucking. Kyle looked like a big, tough wrestler, but he was really just a big bottom. Rusty could get used to this, but first he wanted pizza.

Brenda and Fritz enjoyed their dinner. There was a couple's special, and they split an oyster platter and a cheese plate. They were ready to go home. Brenda had a lot of wine. It inspired a devilish idea in her. "Let's go around the back." There was an empty alley back there.

"Why here?" He asked.

Brenda knelt down on Fritz's feet and unzipped his pants.

"Brenda, the staff throws out their trash here. They could come out any minute."

She ignored her husband's concerns and began to suck him. She worked quickly, her mouth engulfing him, and her throat making his little head twitch about. She cupped his balls in her hands and began to rub them. She massaged them gently as she bobbed up and down. Fritz was losing it, weak at the knees, eager to cum. He grabbed her head and began to fuck her face. "OH FUCK! OH FUCK! OHHHHH". He shot his load deep in her throat. She smiled. They just made it around the corner when the trash was thrown out. The waiter had watched the whole encounter. _What a lucky bastard? _he thought as he returned to work.

Andrea's House

After the party, Andrea's sister wanted them to come to the after party. Andrea lied, saying Flynn had to work on Saturday, and they left. They barely made it in the house before they were resuming their little room activities. They got naked right away and Flynn took her on the floor in the middle of the living room, she was on her back and he was kneeling in front of her. Miles Davis played in the background. The music was slow and easy going, but they were going fast and rough. Andrea screamed and begged for more. She had a lot of Scotch, and the alcohol was going to keep her up for a while.

Flynn tried to get them upstairs but they just ended up on the staircase. Andrea lied on her stomach on the flat portion where the stairs turned, ass in plain view. Flynn got behind her and began to fuck her wildly. She yelled and cursed as he drove into her. They did it again in the hallway, before she Flynn finally got her to a bed.

"Maybe we should just move the bed to the living room," he joked. Flynn lied down. Andrea got ready and began to ride him. She began bucking wildly, thrashing and grinding hard. Flynn grabbed her hips and began to meet her thrusts. They pounded aggressively until she started cumming like a volcano, all over everything. She collapsed on the bed. He was still hard. He stroked his member until he shot his load all over her.

They lay there, side by side, out of breath.

The Beach House

Bobby and Sharon took Hunter for a walk on the beach. She ran and played and jumped in and out of the water. The two humans enjoyed the stars, and the fresh, salty air. They brought a tired Hunter back in the house, so she could sleep.

"This is amazing," Sharon told Bobby.

"I wanted it to be perfect for you." He kissed her gently. He swiftly picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.

He made quick work of her dress. She wore see through underwear, causing him to spring upwards. "I'm glad you like it." She rubbed his hardened cock through his pants.

He got naked and wrapped his arms around Sharon. They kissed passionately. They rolled around for position and Bobby let her pin him. He liked being able to admire her body. He got her bra off and burrowed in between her breasts.

She growled as he interrogated her nipples with his tongue and teeth. He tore her panties off and pulled her forward, so she was straddling his face. He pulled her down and began to devour her.

She had never been in this position before and didn't know how to balance herself. She braced herself on the headboard as his tongue reclaimed her wet folds. He used his fingers to get her close to the edge and then he stopped. "Turn around." He went right back to her pussy, this time, licking her from behind. Sharon was able to reach his manhood and took him into her mouth. He was big and salty and she bobbed her head up and down as he groped her ass and ate her out. He got her close to the edge and used his fingers to finish her off. She started cumming wildly, yelling and screaming as he fingered her. He kept going, she kept cumming, orgasm after orgasm until she finally gave out. She had at least four.

His cock was waiting for her. She resumed sucking and stroking him. He leaned back for a minute to enjoy his work. He looked at her and knew how he wanted this to end. Once he got close, he had her kneel on the floor in front of him. "Close your eyes and open your mouth." He began to stroke himself. The first shot went down her throat, the next on her tongue, the rest all over her face. "Perfect."

He picked her up and put her right back in the bed. He needed some time before he was ready to fuck. He began kissing her neck and shoulders. She moaned as she enjoyed the attention. It wasn't long before he got her lying down on the bed. This time, he started rimming her. He went without warning, a hot tongue began exploring her hole, somewhere no tongue had been before. She gasped as Bobby pushed her cheeks apart, giving himself more room to work. The sensations were intense. Her face was sweating, her hair totally disheveled. When she had enough, Bobby brought her to her hands and knees and plunged into her pussy.

"AWWWW!" She yelled as he began to pound her. He had his hands on her hips. He loved the feeling of her ass slamming into him. He wanted her to cum, hard, over and over again. Nothing got his ego going more, and he had plenty of ego.

She felt vulnerable when she was on all fours. She couldn't see him, could barely touch him. He had all of the control, and she was completely exposed, but it felt amazing. Her pussy felt like it was enslaved to him. Everything he did made her crazy: every lick, every touch, every thrust. All she could do was beg for more. "Fuck me! Fuck me!"

He loved hearing her beg. His thrusts became more deliberate. He switched between slow deep thrusts and hard shallower ones. As her voice got louder, he started going harder and harder. He wanted the perfect angle. He took her arms and pinned them behind her back. Her chest hit the bed and her ass was in the air. He repositioned himself just right and he began to fuck her violently. She screamed into the pillow as she came like a geyser.

He was still hard, and he was just getting started. He rolled her onto her back, wrapped his arms around her body, kissed her roughly and went back to fucking. She started cumming for him again. Her heart was racing, and it felt like it was growing in her chest.

They took a break. They got some water, and he suggested a shower. The nice hot water was refreshing. Sharon began to lather Bobby's body. She took her chance to kiss and touch him. He had a magnificent physique. As much time as they had spent together naked, she rarely got the chance to admire it. It wasn't long before he was hard again. They went back to the bedroom. Sharon mounted Bobby. Her hands rested on his shoulders as she rode him. She took it slow and easy. Bobby let her play. He wanted her to enjoy herself. He also loved the show.

She began to play with her nipples as she rode him. Bobby loved watching her hands caressing her breasts. Eventually, Sharon's hands made it to her clit. She played with it until she was ready to lose it. She closed her eyes and had a gentle, easy-going orgasm.

Bobby had an idea. He stood up and picked up Sharon's hips. He pushed into her, she had to brace her hands on the bed. He fucked her standing up. The middle of her body was in mid-air. She yelled and cursed as he plowed away at her. Bobby was very strong, he could support her easily. Sharon was light headed. This was incredible. When she had enough, he set her down on the bed. He was facing away from her, his legs on either side of her hips as he penetrated her backwards. She was on her back and had a perfect view of his ass as he pounded her. They only stayed in this position for a couple of minutes. It wasn't the easiest to maintain. He flipped over and straddled her hips. He began to ride her, thrusting in and out of her quickly.

She liked being able to face him, and she liked the variety. She kissed him, and he began massaging her breasts. It wasn't long before he came in her. "I want more," he hissed in her ear as he nuzzled her neck.

_How could he keep going?_ She was ready to pass out. He leaned in for a kiss and they started making out. Their hands exploring each others bodies. "I want your ass," he told her.

"What?"

"I want to fuck you in the ass." He inserted two fingers into her wetness. "You're getting wet just hearing about aren't you."

"Ugh!" she groaned. He began fingering her and she moaned and howled for hit. Somehow, her clit wanted more. She wasn't sure if she could take it without losing her mind. She slumped forward. Bobby took out the lube and applied it liberally to her hole. He started with one finger, then two. He went She slowly opened up for him. Her body liked it very much. When her hips started to buck, Bobby went for the third finger.

"Fuck me!" _Did I just say that out loud?_

Bobby covered his dick with lube and began to slowly press himself into her.

"AAHHHHH!" she screamed as he slowly made his way inside of her. He paused midway, waiting for her to relax. "It's okay," he whispered into his ear. "Relax for me."

His voice was enough to ease her mind and her body became more forgiving. He kissed her shoulders and went the rest of the way in. His movements were small and slow and first. He kissed her cheek and her throat. He slowly increased his speed, like a staircase. He waited for her to to relax and then he went for a little more. Sharon grabbed him and kissed him deeply, her tongue violently clashing with his. She began bitting and scratching him.

He loved her aggression. He began to thrust harder and harder. He reached for the drawer and pulled out her vibrator. He began to use it on her. He wanted her to cum when he did, and he got the timing just right. She collapsed onto the bed, not moving or speaking.

"Did you like it."

She groaned but then she smiled and kissed him.

"I'll take that as a yes."

They lay for a while. _Sharon couldn't believe she had just done that._

She got up to get some water. Her ass was sore, but she enjoyed it. _I think he's turned me into a whore. _She got back into bed. Bobby was getting hard yet again. _One More Time_

"You have a beautiful ass," he told her as he squeezed her cheeks. "It's perfect." He slipped a finger into her pussy and stroked her g-spot

"AWWW!" she screamed out. "God!" He smiled. His fingers made quick work of her. He got her really horny in less than a minute. Then, he stopped.

"Please!"

"Please what?"

"Fuck me!"

"You want me to fuck you?"

"You know I do. I need it."

"You need my cock."

"Yes, you insufferable bastard. I need your cock. Fuck me"

He smiled. He put on some more lube, and he went right back for her ass.

"AWW FUCK!" as he slipped back into her.

"I'm going to fuck the daylights out of you," he hissed. He did just that. He pounded her ass doggie style as she screamed and shouted. His hands gripped her shoulders as he fucked her harder and harder. She screamed for it, begging for more. She needed to cum. He found a dildo in the drawer and he began to fuck her pussy with it. Having two holes at once was driving Sharon wild with lust. She was bucking against both of them, wanting to be filled at all times. She could feel them working against each other, battling for control of her body. She was ready to burst. She started cumming hard. He kept fucking her. He rolled onto his back, and she rode him. He put the dildo aside and went back to the vibrator. She came almost instantly, screaming loudly the whole time. He held it to her clit, keeping her going until she shoved his hand away. He went back to her hands and knees and pounded her, until they both came one more time. "AHH AHHHHH!" She collapsed on the bed. She was out cold.

He smiled. He actually fucked the daylights out of her. She came too after about a minute, totally dazed, her clit had never been so sore, her insides were exhausted. She was covered in sweat, cum dripping out of her. She looked amazing. Bobby was very satisfied with his work. He wrapped his arms around Sharon, and they fell asleep.

Brenda and Fritz

Fritz took it easy on Brenda that night. He was going for it all tomorrow and he wanted her to have plenty of energy. They went slow and easy, missionary style that night. They made out and cuddled afterwards, and she fell asleep, pressed against his chest.

Sharon's house. Rusty actually liked being high. He didn't like the smoking part, but he felt really good. "Do you have any more?" He asked Kyle.

"Dick? I got plenty."

"I meant weed."

"I can get it." Kyle made a phone call. Rusty ate more pizza.

Kyle hung up the phone. "He'll be here in 30 minutes."

"That fast?"

"He doesn't live far away."

Rusty and Kyle played games. Kyle answered the door.

A young man came in, maybe 22. He was tall, with a swimmer's build. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. "I hear you would like goodies."

"He opened his bag. One was called purple kush, another sativa's dream. He also had brownies."

"Could we get the brownies?"

"Sure, but they take a while. We should eat them tomorrow."

"They're $5 the guy said."

Kyle looked at the grass. "The Sativa has great tricomes."

"What's a tricome?"

"It's these fuzzy plant hairs on the weed. It has a lot of THC."

"Oh! That one's purple. Almost all purple."

"Yeah. Took a while to track this one down."

Kyle smelled them both. "Which one do you want Rusty?"

"What's the difference?"

"This one is more of a head high," Kyle said holding the Sativa.

"The other one's more of a body high."

"Body high!"

"Alright. Can I get a quarter of the kush and an 1/8 of the sativa? Also 4 brownies."

"If you just get a ¼ of each it's a better deal."

"All right."

"$120."

Rusty was stunned. It was a lot of dough. "I got it." Kyle handed the guy six $20 bills.

"You have plans for the night."

"Not really."

"Wanna grab a smoke." Kyle put their purchase in Rusty's room and took out a little bit of the kush.

The three went out again. The guy brought his bong. It was easier to smoke out of, less harsh. They drove to an empty park. Kyle let down the back seats to make more room.

They took some hits. Rusty was cracking up. Kyle was making stupid faces and the guy was packing the bowls.

"I don't think I can drive right now," Kyle admitted.

"What are we going to do now?" The blonde asked.

Rusty went to sit up and accidentally grazed him. He definitely had an erection. "I can think of something." Rusty unzipped the guys pants, spit on his dick, and started to stroke him.

"What the, oh! Yeah." The blonde grabbed Rusty's head and pushed it down. Rusty sucked him readily. He got Rusty's pants and began to stroke him. The three boys got naked. They started off sucking each other. It didn't take long before they had Kyle in an Eiffel Tower. They took turns pounding him. They got into a daisy chain. Kyle first, Rusty second, the blonde on top. They all collapsed in the back.

"We should have brought the pizza!"

Kyle got dressed and drove back. He came down enough to see straight, and he got them to the house unscathed. They got inside. They are more food. The blonde headed out.

"We should get a bong."

"One step at a time, Rusty."

They cleaned up the living room, hid the contraband and went to sleep.


	34. A Day for Couples

Andy woke up with a sore back. He decided to take a bath. He opened the bathroom closet. Andrea had plenty of bath salts, he took out the maplewood/spicy apple one and drew a bath.

He soaked in the tub, the hot water encasing his body. His muscles started to relax. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth.

Andrea woke up alone. She looked for signs of Flynn. "Flynn!"

"I'm in the tub."

Andrea walked in. "Do you want a head massage?"

"That would be awesome."

Andrea grabbed the shampoo and washed his hair. She massaged his scalp, careful to keep the soap out of his eyes. She then rubbed in a leave in conditioner. It was minty and caused his scalp to tingle.

"I could get used to this."

Andrea liked having her hands on him. Her hands went down to his shoulders, and she kept working. He closed his eyes and growled as she pushed the knots out of him.

Eliza's Loft

Gabriel slept basking under the window. He was naked, and Eliza was sketching him. His physique was amazing, and he looked so innocent when he slept. He started to wake. She quickly moved her easel away from the bed.

He grunted and rolled over, going back to sleep.

Everything about Gabriel excited Eliza, artistically, romantically, sexually, sometimes all three at once. She wanted to make a sculpture of him. She wanted it to be perfect. She wanted something that could convey the inexpressible, the way he made her feel.

She drank a screwdriver, that was a feeling she could express easily.

The Beach House

Bobby got ready for a morning swim. He wanted to bring Sharon but she slept so peacefully. He took Hunter, and they hit the beach. The water was cold but the warm sun made it nice out. Hunter loved barking and running in and out of the water.

Sharon woke up, feeling exhausted. Her body ached all over, and the sheets were totally nasty. Sharon stripped the bed and found another set in the closet. She made the bed and then took a long, hot shower.

Sharon's House

Rusty was asleep in his bed. Kyle went for a morning run. He needed to stay in shape for wrestling. He came back and hopped in the shower.

Brenda/Fritz

Fritz packed for their surprise trip. He packed Brenda a dress, her black jeans- which Fritz loved to see her in, a t-shirt and a sweater, underwear, shoes, pjs, toiletries. Now, for the fun part, he went to the back to pack the toys. To his surprise, there was a second bag there. He opened it and was delightfully surprised to find all of the goodies Brenda had purchased. _This is going to be excellent._

Joel slept in Brenda's arms. She was rubbing his tummy. His partner and crime was gone this weekend.

Beach House

Bobby got back from the beach. Sharon was just getting out of the shower. Bobby gave her a quick kiss and grabbed the blowdryer for Hunter, nothing worse than a wet dog indoors.

Sharon put on a t-shirt and shorts. The fabric clung to her breasts very nicely. Hunter was finally dry. She felt the urge to lie down and chew on her foot. Bobby slipped his arms around Sharon. "You smell good."

"You hungry?"

"Famished."

"Me, too."

They made eggs benedict for breakfast. Sharon poached the eggs, and Bobby made the hollandaise sauce. They collaborated on the hash browns and fruit salad. It was quite the spread. They washed down their food with coffee and mimosas.

"I was thinking we could grill for lunch. I bought some ground meat for burgers and I brought my homemade spice rub."

"That sounds great."

They relaxed during the morning. Sharon sunbathed on the deck, and Bobby took a nap.

Eliza's Loft.

Gabriel was making pancakes. He had on nothing but an apron and boxers. Eliza liked watching him cook. He made his pancakes with sour cream. She thought it was odd, but he said they'd be great.

Breakfast was served.

He was right. They were nice and fluffy. Hers were covered in syrup, drowning almost.

Andrea's House

She and Flynn snuggled on the loveseat. They were lost in each other's eyes. "Stay with me."

"I'm not going anywhere, Baby," Flynn whispered in her ear. He kissed her forehead. Andrea wanted to just sit back and enjoy the moment, but she knew he would go home, and she would sleep alone. She wanted to say to him, she didn't want to wake up alone anymore, that she wanted him to move in, but it sounded crazy. They just started dating. She wanted to tell him that he made her feel things she didn't know where there, that she had fallen for him, that she loved him. That, was even crazier. She stayed quiet, all of her thoughts filling her head and getting lost at sea.

Sharon's House

Rusty finally woke up. He took a shower and got dressed. He then made some eggs. "Hey, Kyle. Wanna go for a bike ride?"

"I don't have my bike here."

"You can take Sharon's."

And away they went. They rode around the neighborhood, at a nice leisurely pace. It felt good to get fresh air. The trees were nice and full, the sky bright blue, and fluffy white clouds filled the horizon.

Fondue Kitchen

Brenda and Fritz grabbed an early dinner. They shared a cheese fondue for dinner and a chocolate one for dessert. She kissed him. "This was delicious."

"The night is just getting started."

"I can't wait."

"Well, our reservation doesn't begin until 9. How about we go to the park?"

They went for a walk, the sun was getting ready to set. The air was nice and cool. Brenda huddled with Fritz for warm. He smelled good. Brenda got closer. Fritz tenderly rubbed her lower back. His hands ignited a fire in her, a slow one that would burn for a long time tonight. He kissed her cheek.

They found a park bench and snuggled on it, loving the contact. They got up to leave. They would get there early, but there was a lounge.

They got to the "hotel" and Fritz gave his name. They took his bags and said they would be in the room at 9. He could get a key then. He took a receipt for the bags. They went to the bar. Brenda got a gin and tonic, and Fritz a cranberry spritzer. A blonde man, presumably a waiter, eyed them from the bar. He was about 5'9 and very muscular. He looked kind of like Thor but with a haircut. He caught both Fritz's and Brenda's eye. They turned to each other and sipped their drinks, both pretending they hadn't noticed anyone.

Unsurprisingly, people come to the lounge looking for a hookup. Solicitation was prohibited, unless it was a fetish. People wore all kinds of clothes in the lounge. At this time of night, mostly dinner attire. As it got later, more bondage attire. Brenda went to the bathroom.

Fritz made eye contact with the blonde man. He came over. "You have a beautiful wife."

"That I do."

He brought them refills. Fritz picked up his drink. Underneath the glass was a phone number. Fritz shoved it into his pocket before Brenda returned. The man was perfect looking. He could picture it perfectly. Brenda straddled on the man's hips, and Fritz pounding her from behind. The idea got Fritz's heart racing. Brenda returned suddenly. He jumped back.

"What's into you?"

"Just excited for tonight."

"What is this place?"

"You'll see."

Brenda got close to kiss him. She could feel the excitement between his legs. She brushed against him. He groaned loudly.

Fritz noticed the man a couple of more times. Brenda saw her husband eyeing this stranger. She was intrigued. He was very handsome.

Eventually, it was 9. They went to the lobby and signed the guest agreements. They got their key and were led upstairs. "There's instruction manuals in the closet and don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

They got to the room. The first room was a normal bedroom with a mini fridge. Their bags were by the closet. Brenda wandered into the open door and was awed at what she saw. The first thing she noticed was a little jail cell, stocks, some weird kind of swing, a cushioned table, lots of metal and hooks and loops. Brenda didn't know what all of this stuff was. Fritz was right behind her. This place was better than he imagined. He went to wrap his arm around Brenda.

"Do you want to change first?"

Brenda nodded. They went into the bedroom. Brenda went into the closet and re-emerged in a leather corset and a black thong. Fritz wore leather pants. He pulled her to him and kissed her. "I'm going to take good care of you." He carried her into the dungeon and set her on the table.

He put her ankles in the stirrups, keeping herself exposed to him. They were cold, sending chills down her legs. His hot lips started with her neck and worked their way down to her wetness. He slowly begin prodding her with his fingers.

"AAAHHH!" She was very excited. This place terrified her, but made her very horny at the same time. She could only imagine being paraded as Fritz's fuck-toy, being exposed to the world as he had his way with her. It got her really hot. He shoved two fingers in her and used them to fuck her silly. She got ready to cum, and then he stopped. "Not so fast."

Brenda looked at him with Bambi eyes. He kissed her lips and came back with the Ben-Wa balls. He slowly pushed them into her and told her to hold them there. They drove Brenda crazy. They filled her, but they didn't take her over the edge. They just left her begging for cock.

Brenda reached out and started stroking Fritz's erection through his pants. He twitched and turned red as she got to the underlying vein. She could find his most sensitive places, even when he was clothed. Fritz undid the fly of his pants. Brenda sucked him. He had to straddle her since she couldn't sit up so well in the stirrups. She got him to his breaking point and stopped.

"What the FUCK!" He got a taste of his own medicine.

"What do you want to do tonight?"

"Get a blow job."

"You brought me all the way here for a blow job?"

"I want to fuck you on that swing."

"And try out the stirrups."

"And see if we can get the suspension rig to work."

"Are you leaving out anything?" Brenda slowly stroked him. Not enough to get him off. Just enough to make his balls lurch forward for more.

"Like What?"

"Like how hard you've been since we got to the lounge."

"Is it odd that I want to fuck you?"

"No, but it is odd that you were eye banging the waiter."

"I was not." Fritz turned bright red.

"I saw him looking at you. He was very attractive. You do like blondes." Brenda quickened her pace. "I bet you would love for him to be here, sucking your dick. I bet he's great with his mouth."

"Brenda!"

"Just like this." Brenda sucked him hard. She got him just about to fall over the edge and and pinched him.

"What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for you to level with me. What do you want him to do to you? Did you want to fuck him?"

Brenda smiled she loved teasing him. "I just want you to tell me what you really want, what you fantasize about."

Fritz was silent.

"I'll tell you mine," Brenda offered. "I get off thinking about someone watching me."

"What?"

"When you fuck me, I close my eyes and imagine someone watching from either a window, or walking in. I like the idea of putting on a show."

"I want to watch him pound you," Fritz admitted

"What?"

"I want to see him fuck you." He sighed. "I want to take you from behind at the same time. I get off thinking about you taking two cocks at once.

Fritz really meant that. Brenda took pity on him and made him cum in her mouth.

He didn't say anything for a bit. Finally, he spoke. "Now, let's try the swing."

Brenda lied on it. Fritz got hard again, which didn't take very long and entered her. The Ben Wa balls were finally put to rest. The swing was great. Fritz could fuck her nice and deep and the swing kept her supported, freeing his hands to grope and fondle her. Brenda came for him easily. She felt much more relaxed, now that she and Fritz were open with each other.

_Do I tell her about the number?_ Fritz didn't know what to do. It sounds great when fantasies become reality, but it could be a total disaster. He buried his face in Brenda's breasts and continued to pound her.

He came deep inside of her. Brenda went to get some water. Fritz went to spray down the swing and the mattress. She noticed a card sticking out of Fritzi's pocket. She took a peek. JR and a number. "What's this?" She came into the dungeon holding a card.


	35. Naughty and Nice

If you find alternative sex lifestyles offensive, skip this chapter, although I wonder why you read the earlier chapters.

"Well, you see, that's …."

"Why are you so nervous? Who's JR."

"He's the …." No good lie came to Fritz.

"He's the waiter, isn't he? You got a number. Good for you."

"I wasn't trying to, I mean …."

Brenda gave him a sloppy kiss. "How about you get me another drink?"

Brenda put on her jeans and Fritz put on a shirt and they went back to the lounge. Fritz went to get Brenda a drink, and JR appeared.

"Back so soon." He smiled.

"I want you to meet us upstairs. My husband wants to as well. I think he's a little shy though. We've been here before."

"First timers. I don't bite, unless you ask. How about this? I'll stop by at midnight unless I get a call otherwise. The ball's in your court."

Before she could answer, JR was gone. Fritz came back with her drink.

She took a big gulp. "JR was here."

"He didn't bring you a drink. What kind of waiter is he?"

"I don't think he is one. I think it might be a fetish."

Fritz laughed. "What did he say?"

"He wants to come to our room at midnight."

"He wants you."

"He spends more time eyeing you."

"Oh hush."

"Do you want to?" Brenda looked into his eyes.

"I don't know."

"Let's go upstairs and talk." Brenda took her drink with her, and they went back to the room.

"I don't want to mess things up," Fritz told her.

"What things?"

"Us."

"You think you could mess us up. You're stuck with me for life."

He laughed. "You know what I mean. This could get complicated."

"How?"

"What if you don't like it, or I don't, or one of us does and the other one doesn't or if …."

"Okay, okay. Maybe we should make some rules."

"Like what?"

"Like one, this is revokable at any time. As soon as one person wants out, it's done."

"Good."

"What's off limits?"

"Huh"

"Is there anything you don't want him to do to me or you don't want me to do to him?"

Fritz thought about it. He got off on the idea of his wife taking more dick. He just didn't want her to get hurt. "I don't want him to be too rough with you, or to spank you or anything like that, no barebacking" He wanted to be the only man to touch her that way.

"If there's anything else you want to add," Brenda handed him the paper and the pen. Fritz thought about it, but nothing else that Brenda might do stuck out to him. They took a shower and cleaned the room and the toys, not knowing what would be used for later. Brenda changed into the leather harness. "Do you like it?"

"It's perfect." He grabbed her and started kissing her nipples. They began touching and groping each other readily, when they heard a knock on the door. Fritz answered it, wearing nothing but a towel. JR came in, with big smile.

"You look even better." He looked Brenda up and down. Brenda went over the rules with JR. He nodded, and Fritz began to kiss Brenda's neck.

"If you don't mind, I'll watch first and then join in. I like to learn people's dynamics." _Brenda liked the idea of putting on a show._

Fritz picked up Brenda and carried her into the dungeon. He put her on her hands and knees. He started to slowly eat her out, causing her to gasp and moan. Her face was nice and rosy, sweat slowly starting to form on her forehead. She was very close.

"Wait!" he told her

He came back with the beads. He covered them in lube, and they slowly disappeared into her ass. He went back to licking her, causing her to grunt and growl for more. She thrusted her hips into Fritz. He pulled the beads out quickly, causing her to shout. She started to cum.

"I thought I told you to wait." He gave her a spanking. She moaned and screamed through it, her ass backing into his hands.

JR enjoyed the show. He unzipped his pants and began to stroke his throbbing member.

Brenda was in her own world, until she heard JR groan. The realization that another man was there to watch her fuck, to see what a whore she was, brought her over the edge. "I'm gonna cum."

"Again?"

He pushed against her clit with his fingers, to see how wet she was. That's all it took and she came all over his hand.

"You little slut."

He put her in the stocks, leaving JR with a perfect view of her ass and swollen lips. Fritz fed Brenda his cock. She couldn't bob her head, so Fritz fucked her face.

JR closed his eyes and stroked his dick. Brenda was very inviting. Her ass nice and red, her backside completely exposed to him, and she couldn't see him at all. Fritz started to blush. He had this perfect view of a god in front of him.

Jr got up and began to finger Brenda. She twitched and grumbled something, and he kept going, knowing exactly how to drive a woman wild. He then used his tongue, determined to bring her over the edge.

The sight of JR devouring Brenda was a bit much for Fritz. He was trying not to blow his load so soon, but Brenda felt too good. He had to pull out. He took Brenda out of stocks. JR walked up to Brenda and offered her his dick. She knelt down in front of him and began to suck. Fritz's own member was throbbing. She grabbed it and started to stroke it. She took turns sucking them. Fritz blew his load in her mouth. She swallowed and went back to JR. Brenda finished him with her hand, causing him to cum all over his chest.

Fritz and JR suspended her in mid air. They took leather cuffs and attached them to her wrists and ankles, and they attached those to this hanging net.

Brenda felt like she was on display. She loved it. Fritz put the nipple clamps on her. She grunted. JR found the dildo with a stick and used it to fuck her. Brenda moaned and groaned. Fritz began devouring her ass. Brenda loved all of the attention and came hard.

"She's really wet," Jr commented as he pushed his fingers deep within her.

"AWWW FUCK ME!" _Did I just ask this stranger to fuck me, in front of my husband?_

JR got a condom and rolled it onto his sizable dick. He slowly pressed into Brenda. "FUCK FUCK FUCK!" He started to slowly pump into her.

Fritz was in awe. This perfectly crafted man was pounding his wife right in front of him. Fritz stroked his dick, desperately trying to get it ready to join in on the fun. Brenda started to sweat. Her hair was messy, she was turning red. He loved looking at her during sex, which is why he wanted to watch a man fuck her. It's hard to watch her while he fucks her because he gets distracted which detracts from his fucking ability. Watching JR is perfect. He's got control of her, and she looks amazing.

"AWWWW!"" Brenda was loving this. She looked over to Fritz who was giving himself a hand job.

" Fuck Fuck FUCK" Brenda yelled as she came. She had no control of her body. She was completely at their whim.

Jr came and then he pulled out. He threw the condom away and came back.

"You guys going to go to the party."

"What party?"

"Well, it's about dick o' clock."

"Isn't that right now?" Brenda asked him. Fritz giggled.

"Well around this time of night, people head out to the master suite on the third floor. People socialize, do other things. I can tell you like to perform," he looked at Brenda when he said this. "You can put on quite a show."

Brenda looked at Fritz. There was a mix of lust and fear in her eyes. He kissed her neck gently. "You don't have to do anything. We can stay right here. We could just check it out." Fritz could see that not all of her fantasy had been realized yet, she still burned to perform, and this was the place: out of the city, all strangers, no recording devices. They were strict on that. They also cast a light that humans can't see, but it disturbs attempts to take video, causes the white balance to get wonky and everything washes out. He asked about it on the phone.

He also didn't want to rush her. It may be a few visits before she's ready.

"We could check it out. I want to wear more than this."

"You look perfect," JR told her. He put on his tie and pants, leaving the rest of his clothes there. Fritz put on his leather pants. Brenda went with a black miniskirt and the corset. She put her hair up.

They got downstairs. There was a mix of people, younger, older, hot, not so hot. One guy was getting flogged on a table. Heads turned when they saw the trio. "They're looking at you, Babe," JR told her as they made their way through the crowd. Fritz kept his hands on her hips.

A large, muscular man was being pegged by a woman on the opposite side of the room. He wanted to touch himself, but his hands were tied away. Fritz wondered what that felt like.

On the floor, people were doing various things, people getting walked like they were dogs, being paraded in front of the crowd by their masters. One guy was walking around with a cucumber in his mouth. Other people were chatting, commenting, bragging. This one woman came up to JR. They must have known each other. He asked her about her night. She told him she kicked this one guy out of her bed because he wouldn't stay with the theme. She was having a party in her suite and it was supposed to be cops and robbers, and he just wanted to be a pony.

"Are you a cop or a robber?" Brenda didn't get the outfit. She wore a short, sexy dress, not reminiscent of either.

"I'm the girlfriend who drives the getaway car."

Brenda looked confused. Fritz got it. "You don't have to be a cop or a robber. You just needed to be in the dynamic. Girlfriend, bank teller, etc."

"Oh!" What an odd theme? Brenda thought. Well, it left a lot of roles to play.

A man wearing a mask on his head came up behind the woman and tugged on her. "That's my cue. Bye now." Like that, she was gone.

Women started flirting with Fritzi. He was quite the catch, and these women had no qualms at all. Brenda jealously watched him. Fritz diplomatically got away from one woman just to get into the sights of another. He finally found his way to Brenda. "A little help."

"What, you looked fine to me. I would say, you look fine to all of the women here."

"Oh you stop! I was trying to get back to you, and you left me high and dry."

"Now, that is one thing I haven't done all night." She playfully rubbed his crotch.

"You are such a tease."

"I always deliver."

"Prove it." They went into a dark corner. Brenda started to suck him. Fritz's hands started to stroke her hair.

"AWWW!" He was enjoying himself. As far as he knew, they were the only ones there.

The women watched jealously as Brenda serviced him in plain sight. She wanted them all to know he was hers, and hers alone. She looked over to them and smiled, then went right back to sucking.

Fritz could see the encounter. What a show off! He would help her put on a show. He was about to cum, instead of having her swallow him, he came all over her face.

"Fritzi!"

"What, you wanted to put on a show? I just put in the finale."

There was no masking her activity now. He pulled her up to her feet. Brenda looked for a towel to wipe of her face.

"Leave it," Fritz smiled. They went back to the crowd. All of the guys noticed her and started to schmooze. Brenda kept stroking Fritz through his pants, right in front of them. These guys didn't have a chance. JR noticed the swarm and looked for the middle. Of course, a cum-covered blonde. She may as well be made of gold. He whispered in her ear, "ready for a bigger stage."

She looked at Fritz. She was pretty wet already. Fritz slipped his hands to her inner thigh. She was radiating heat. She groaned from his touch.

"I think that's a yes."

JR led Brenda to the small stage. Fritz was right behind them. There was a grand stage in the middle, where most of the action was.

Brenda grabbed Fritz and kissed him. She turned to JR and her lips loved from his neck down to his belly button. She knelt in front of him and unzipped his pants. Then she pulled out his cock. Her mouth found him and greedily began sucking. Fritz pulled off her thong and began to eat her.

A crowd started to appear, first they just watched in awe as the three sucked each other. As more gathered, they developed a collective voice "FUCK HER! FUCK HER!" Brenda just noticed that lots of people had appeared, both in front of the stage but also into the room. There had to be twice as many people as there were before. She was a little stunned. No, she was very stunned. A bit of stage fright took over her.

JR guided her back to his dick. "They love it. Just relax and enjoy yourself."

Fritz heard the chants and liked the attention. He stood up and picked up Brenda's hips. He guided himself into her and began to thrust. It was hard to hold Brenda up this way, none of her was on the ground, but the crowd loved it.

Brenda's ponytail swayed back and forth as Fritz fucked her. Fritz really wanted to pull on it and fuck her hard, but he wouldn't be able to hold her up that way.

JR had never seen a crowd get this excited about a little threesome on the small stage. These people have seen it all, many times before. It had to be Brenda, something about her and her raw sexuality that drives people insane.

JR was not immune to her charms. Soon, he shot his load all over her. That elicited even more screams from the audience.

The performers on the main stage kept going, and people stayed to watch them, but it was clear that they were playing second fiddle for a change.

JR picked up Brenda and held her as Fritz pounded her. Brenda moaned and groaned and screamed for more as Fritz drove himself into her. "OHH FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Brenda started cumming, harder than she ever had. Fritz kept pounding her. JR was having trouble holding her, her orgasms rather violent. He pulled a table up to them and put her on it. It wasn't long before Brenda came again, screaming her head off. The crowd was wild. Fritz shot his load all over Brenda. Her chest and stomach were covered with him.

He kissed her passionately. She whispered into his ear. "Is it weird that I still want to fuck?"

"Not at all."

JR announced, "Consider this our intermission." They left the stage through the back, avoiding the crowd.

"Intermission?"

JR showed them a box of condoms and a bottle of lube. "I believe we left one door still open. How about we close it?"

Fritz looked at Brenda. "How are you feeling?"

Brenda's heart was racing. Sex was a complicated thing. It was something everyone did but everyone hid. It was dirty or shameful to be wanton and unabashed. Being a southern belle, Brenda was raised to keep everything indoors. She wanted to break away from that, she needed it. She wanted to just scream out, I love getting fucked. So what! She did just that, putting herself out there in front of the crowd, and they loved it. She did too.

"Awesome!" She finally answered. "Really awesome."

Fritz loved how happy his wife was. He wouldn't have done this with anyone else.

"We still have your fantasy, Fritzi."

"That we do."

JR showed them the water cooler behind the stage. They both drank readily.

The crowd was hopping, music was playing, people were all chatting, dancing, making out, some of them giving hand jobs or other things. When they returned to the stage, the crowd looked their way, the music lowered, the making out turned to necking sessions so they could face the stage.

Brenda was ready for act two. She pulled JR into a kiss and then pushed him onto the table. She got him hard with her mouth and her hands. Then, put a condom on him and then she straddled him. She started to ride him. The crowd got a side profile. She looked straight at them as she began to pick up her pace. She looked back to JR and bit his neck. Fritz enjoyed the show as well. He got nice and hard, and then he put on a rubber and some lube. He put some lube on Brenda's hole and began to massage it with his finger. Now, for the fun. He slowly pressed his way into her, causing her to scream.

He stayed for a minute, the crowd locked on his every movement. "Get ready to fuck," he whispered into her ear. He began pounding her. She screamed and cursed as she had two men battling for her body. She loved it. The table was sturdy, which was good because it was getting quite a workout. It wasn't long before Brenda started to cum. JR stood up with her in his arms. They held her up as they pounded her. The crowd got even louder. They kept going, until Brenda came again and again. She wanted more. Fritz came soon after her, and he pulled out. It was just Brenda and JR now. He put her back on the table and began to fuck her.

It was quite a magnificent sight, a huge, muscular man having his way with a petite blonde woman. Her body thrashed, and she arched her back, begging for more. Fritz was in awe. Brenda looked absolutely amazing, covered in cum and sweat and being pounded by a goliath of a man. Her eyes locked on his, lovingly. They shared a moment. She started cumming again, violently. She covered JR in her wetness. It was quite an explosion. The crowd was stunned. He slowed down. She was out of breath, gasping for air. Fritz started to kiss her, breathing air into her lungs.

JR flipped her over. He pulled out, just to insert himself into her ass. He pounded her. Fritz was hard again, and he got a rubber and inside of her pussy. The two men were too much for her, and she began to cum again. She kissed Fritz as she covered him. JR shot his load all over her ass. Fritz gently made love to her. The crowd quieted down, softened by this intimate, but very public moment. He came in her, and they all left the stage, going back to the room, leaving the crowd speechless.

The suite had a huge shower, which was good because Brenda was a sticky, sweaty mess. They washed her, and her hair. Now clean, they all sat down on the bed.

"I love you," she whispered in Fritz's ear.

He kissed her. "I love you, more." Their eyes locked in on each other.

"I'm exhausted," she announced, "and I'm hungry."

"I could eat." Fritz had expended a lot of energy.

"There's a pizza place, open all night."

They fussed over the toppings. Eventually, they came up with two pizzas, chicken, artichoke and goat cheese, and pepperoni, capers and onion. JR called in the order. "45 minutes."

"That's forever!" Brenda pouted.

"We could pass the time," he offered.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"Tired so soon."

She pouted.

"She was outnumbered." Fritz laughed.

"That, she was. We could have gotten another girl," JR added.

"Brenda's too jealous." Fritz ribbed her.

"Am not."

"I thought you were going to kill those girls."

"I was not."

"Really, I'm pretty sure you sucked my dick to mark your territory."

"So motivation matters when it comes to blow jobs."

"No way," JR drew the line.

They all laughed. Brenda and Fritz cuddled. JR liked watching them. _They must be really happy_, he thought.

JR closed his eyes and leaned back. He felt amazing, like a total rockstar. He replayed the night in his mind. His favorite moment was watching Fritz take her ass, while she rode him. He could tell that Fritz's gaze was locked in on his body as was Brenda's. He loved the attention. He started to get hard. His towel fell off his body.

"He wants more. I don't understand how he can still get it up."

"It's easy to get hard when you're here."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. You have this energy: it's raw, passionate, sensual. It makes you irresistible."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

JR started to touch himself. You could see his forearms at work. The couple watched him. Brenda's eyes locked in on his chest and abs. Fritz's focus was more on his cock. Brenda tracked Fritz's eyes. "They do say, gentlemen prefer blondes."

"You hush."

"You two have been eyefucking all night. Maybe, you should just let it happen."

Fritz stayed seated. Brenda slid over to him. She told him to get on his hands and knees. Brenda began to rim him. Watching Brenda tongue him got Fritz from semi-hard to throbbing. He was a little jealous. She eyed her husband and gave him a smirk. "If you want him, have him," her eyes told Fritz. She went back to work. JR sat up, his body more visible as he stroked his dick. Fritz saw the longing look in his eyes. They got to him. Fritz took JR in his mouth and began to suck. He groaned loudly as Fritz got to work. Brenda smiled. It was a very hot scene to watch. Brenda put lube on her fingers and began to insert them into JR.

He loved having both husband and wife on his body. Usually, he was there to help women cuckold their husbands. He would fuck wives in front of their mates who were either gagged or tied to a chair or somehow incapacitated. One wife would only let her husband fuck her with a dildo that was strapped to his face. This was the first time that a wife wanted to share him with her husband. It was rather enjoyable. JR closed his eyes.

Fritz had never done this before, except for that one time he tried to suck himself in college. It didn't work so well. He just did what Brenda did to him.

Brenda withdrew from JR. "Maybe you should return the favor," she whispered into his ear. JR motioned Fritz to lie down. JR took Fritz into his mouth, and they began sucking each other. Brenda went to wash her hands. She came back and enjoyed the show.

Brenda was right. JR was very skilled with his mouth. It was hard for Fritz to concentrate with JR's tongue vibrating against him. JR shot his load all over Fritz's face. Fritz returned the favor.

_A Loud Knock_

Fritz threw on a towel, but first he wiped his face with it.. Brenda ducked into the other room. JR just stayed there. He didn't care if he was naked or covered in cum. Fritz got the door and paid the guy, who stayed in the hallway. He knew what kind of place this was, and he was here every weekend delivering lots of pizza.

Fritz came back with food. Brenda reemerged, washed her hands and began to dig in. They did the same. They tore through the food, 4 slices gone from each. JR put down some cash for his share. He bid them a good night and left.

Brenda put the pizza away. Fritz wrapped his arms around her. They passed out.


	36. Weekend Wrapup

It was time for Flynn to go home. He had work to do on his house. Andrea didn't want him to leave. She kept distracting him with kisses and caresses. "You could come with me," he offered.

"For the night?"

"And the next one, and the one after that."

"I would be practically living there."

"That's the point. I know we just started seeing each other and I must sound like I'm crazy for even bringing this up, but I don't like waking up without you. I want you in my bed. I want to eat breakfast with you. I want to come home to you, and I really would love it if you brought your speakers to my house. They're awesome."

Andrea laughed. "You just want my electronics."

"I want all of you. The gadgets are just a nice bonus."

"I have a mortgage."

"It's a lovely house. You could rent it, and if you don't like me anymore, come back."

"I'm not going to stop liking you."

"I'm going to hold you to that." He kissed her. She packed a bag and followed him home. She didn't know when she would move or if she could even find a renter, but she would try.

The Beach

Sharon and Bobby made burgers for lunch. Sharon typically just bought the frozen patties, but Bobby's spice rub was divine. Bobby had some beef scraps that he grilled for Hunter. She was happy as a clam. "Want to get in the jacuzzi after lunch?" Bobby wanted to get her in something more revealing.

She smiled. "You have to promise to keep your hands to yourself. I'm still recovering from last night."

"Scouts honor!" Not that Bobby was ever a scout. They changed into their swimsuits, and they took a nice dip.

"I want to know more about you," Bobby told Sharon.

"Ask me anything?"

"What's your most embarassing sex story?"

"I'm not telling."

"Why not?"

"It's embarassing."

"That's the point. I'll go first. I was 17, and I had been flirting with this girl from class. She was in charge of the morning announcements for school, and she was in the office. We set the station to play pre-recorded announcements and used the time to make out. One day, we started doing more on the desk and somehow we must of hit the mic. Everyone heard us, including her father who was the vice principal. To make it worse, I didn't notice, and I was not the most gentlemanly with my language. When we left the room, all of the admins were waiting for us. I got the school-parent meeting of the century. The administration yelled at me. When my parents arrived, they yelled at me. My administration yelled at me in front of my parents, my dad started yelling at them for yelling at me and the next thing I know, my dad got escorted out the building. They wanted to suspend me but not her, and my parents threatened to sue. It was a huge saga."

"That's unbelievable."

"It gets worse. As it turns out, she flipped the mic on purpose, to spite her father."

"What!"

"So, what's your story?"

Sharon stammered. "I was a junior in college. I was with boyfriend at the time, and we were in my dorm room. It was the end of the year, and my roommate already moved out, so I thought we would be all alone. We were just getting to the good part when a door opened. It was my roommates parents, and her, her grandparents there to take her out to lunch. She hadn't told them that she moved out."

"Did you cause a heart attack?" Bobby was cracking up.

"It's not funny. Well it's a little funny."

The Loft

"Don't stop! Don't Stop!" Eliza was shrieking.

Gabriel had her up against the wall, her legs around his hips. He stood tall as he took her. Her head rested on his shoulder. She moaned and groaned as he kept her on the edge. The cold air in her apartment tingled her naked frame and the little hairs on her body stood out on end.

Gabriel was eager to please. He paid attention to every moan and whimper, figured out exactly how she wanted to be kissed, which positions she preferred, how she wanted him to thrust. He studied her like he was learning a new language, familiarizing himself with all of her patterns.

"AHHH! AHHH!" She collapsed on him as her orgasm overcame her. He held her up and pounded her until he came deep inside of her.

They lied down on her fluffy rug. Gabriel felt conficted. He had never been happier, but he wasn't on the course he had planned. Meet a gal, go to church get married have little Gabriels. He found himself enamored with a woman he met in a bar, probably has never been to Church in the last decade and lives for the moment, never worrying about deadline or the future unless her agent makes her. The stars that burn the hottest die the youngest, and Gabriel was afraid that this start was going to sink soon. Eliza could sense his anguish. He had a troubled soul, but she couldn't help him until he let her in. She kissed the nape of his neck. He pulled her closer.

Sharon's House

Rusty spent his time doing his homework. He was behind in history class, mainly because he doesn't listen. His teacher was so boring

He wanted to just set his dumb book on fire and dance around it.

Flynn's House

He and Andrea made dinner together. They whipped up a mean risotto, a salad and stuffed peppers. She doesn't get to eat as much meat with Flynn, but he's a great cook and vegetables are healthier anyway. Also, Flynn has no Scotch, but Andrea could get used to it. She kissed him softly.

The Beach

Bobby kept stealing kisses from Sharon. He paid extra attention to her neck.

"You said you'd keep your hands to yourself."

"I am Sharon. I'm using my mouth instead."

She smirked at him. He kissed her again and slipped his arms around her. "These are just my arms."

She leaned into him, and they basked in the sun.

The Car

Brenda and Fritz checked out of the hotel and headed home. Brenda slept soundly in the passenger's seat. Fritz drove. He couldn't believe the weekend they had. It was more like an erotic thriller than a true story. He chuckled to himself.

Fritz's cell went off. He ignored it, but the caller kept calling. He pulled over to answer it.

"Hello."

"OH Fritz." _Sobs_

"Liz, what's wrong."

She told her story. She got scammed by these gypsies and now she was stuck in Toledo with no way of getting home. They stole her car and her stuff. She had no money, couldn't get ahold of any credit until Monday and was walking along the road. Fritz promised to rent her a hotel room online and arrange for them to send a car to pick her up. "Do you want me to come down there?"

"That's okay. You have to work tomorrow."

"Let me know if you need anything else, and I'll be there."

"Thanks, Brother."

Fritz went on orbtiz on his phone and found a hotel. He rented a room and called them to pick up his sister and take her there. He told them to charge the fee to his card.

Fritz got them home and fed Joel. He had to carry Brenda into the house. She muttered, "Fritzi," but stayed asleep. He put her in the bed and called to check on Liz. She was in the car, on her way to the hotel. She thanked him again, and he told her not to worry about it. He and Liz were the last of the Howards. They had to look out for each other.

The Beach

Bobby and Sharon had a tame Saturday night. They went to the drum circle on the beach and saw dancers, firespinners, drummers of course and lots of partying. The smell of weed irked Sharon, but it was vacation, so she stayed far away. Bobby wished he had some. Hunter loved the fire. She would get close, find it too warm, bark and jump back, just to approach it again.

They walked back to the house, and she fell asleep in his arms.

Monday in Chicago

Marcus Ginn had everything a 12 year old boy could want. He was tall, great at baseball, had lots of friends, and he lived in a nice home.

Unfortunately, his grandparents were sick. First, it was his grandmother. She got better but then she got worse again. Grandpa had been taking care of her, but now he needs help, too. Marcus wants to help more, but he's only 12. This is all out of his hands. He sighed and went to school.

Henry and Molly Ginn only had one daughter, Patricia. She was a deadbeat. No one had seen her in 11 years, and the last time they saw her, she was a mess: conning people out of money, supporting her drug addict of a boyfriend. They always hoped she would come back on the straight and narrow. She never came back, not for Marcus, not for anybody. They hoped she was alive, but they really didn't know. They had no idea who Marcus's father was.

"We don't have a choice." Henry told Molly, sick of arguing.

"But he's been here his whole life. He doesn't know any other parents."

"We can't be his parents anymore. We're in and out of the hospital. We can't supervise him. We can't advise him. He needs parents who can stay healthy."

Molly felt defeated. Tears filled her eyes. She knew Henry was right but she didn't want to lose Marcus. She didn't know what would happen to him. She also was afraid to die. She knew she and Henry didn't have that much time left. Giving up Marcus made it that much more real. "I'm just afraid to..."

"I know. We all are." He hugged her. They weeped together. They had been married 50 years and had been through lots of rough times. This felt like the worst of them.

Atlanta, GA

Jacob got a call from Bobby. "Hey I got your letter. That looks like a fair offer, but I don't think Joyce will accept it."

"I know she won't."

"Then why send it?"

"This is the art of negotiation. You always send a lowball as your first counteroffer. No matter what we do, she will ask for more. We may as well ask for something low, and then see where she raises us."

"I leave this to you. How's that smoker treating you?"

"Awesome. I had a big barbeque last weekend. Everyone loved the meat, and your spice rub. I never thought to use expresso in it."

"I told you. It just gives a nice crust to the meat."

"I thought it would just taste like Folgers. You really should sell your recipes."

"You think anyone would buy them?"

"You never know until you try it."

"Maybe, I will. Catch you later, cuz."

Jacob sent the letter to Joyce's lawyer.

He then went to heat up pork. Yum!

Michael just signed a new deal. He had the exclusive rights to an up and coming band from Decatur. He was sure this would finally put him on the map. He bought some flowers to celebrate with Joyce tonight.

Washington, DC

Charlie was just leaving class. She was doing very well. Her professor stopped her on the way out. "Charlie."

"Yes, Professor Brooks."

"Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. Charlie stopped to look at him."

"You're doing very well in this biology class."

"Thank you."

"So well, that I want to recommend you for our travelling program."

"What?"

"Georgetown has a program where students can spend a semester studying a university that ranks highly in the field. UCLA has an amazing biology department. I was wondering if you would be interested in representing Georgetown this spring. We had a student set to go, but she is taking a job with the CDC, and she needs to stay here."

"Wow! That would be amazing."

"So you'll apply."

"You bet."

"Here are the forms."

"Thanks."

"No problem. I like to see bright students succeed." He smiled and Charlie left. A spring in LA. Yes! First things first, get this application done.

Florida

Clay Jr was at work. He always worked so much. He got a call from his father. "Hey Jr. when's the last time you took time off work?"

"You know how it is, Dad. If I start taking time off, I'll start getting left out. That means no promotions."

What is with my kids and being obsessed with work? "When's the last time you took your lady out to dinner, or away for the weekend."

"Dad, she knows I do this for us."

"Bobby thought the same thing."

"She's not Joyce!"

"I know that, but people can grow apart when they hardly see each other. Think about it."

"Sure, Dad. Is that all?"

"Well, your sister and her husband are coming for Thanksgiving."

"Here?" Brenda never came to Florida.

"Yes, here. She managed to take time off work."

Another guilt trip. "See you at home, Dad."

"Are you coming home? For dinner?"

"Bye Dad!" He hung up. Damn his father could push his buttons. He means well, but he needs a hobby or something.

Toledo, KY

Liz finally got a plane ticket home. She had to wait at the TSA forever since she didn't have her ID. She finally got home, and now she'd have to get new cards, ids, a new car. What a mess! This was the last road trip she was taking.


	37. Across the States

Thursday

Chicago

Henry and Molly sat in their lawyer's office.

"So you're here about your grandson?"

"Yes."

"Are you having trouble with him?"

"No! He's the best grandson you could ask for."

The lawyer looked stunned. He was a family law expert. He usually only dealt with problem children and divorcing disputes. Occasionally, he had a parent who flew the coop.

"We can't take care of him anymore," Henry explained. "We're old, and our health is failing. If something happened suddenly, we don't know what would happen to Marcus."

"Do you have any relatives who can care for him?"

"That's what we're worried about. We've amassed a decent estate for ourselves. Marcus is our heir. We're afraid that if one of our relatives take him in..."

"They'll try to take the estate."

"Yes."

"Well, you can put the estate in a trust and hire a trustee to supervise it."

Molly and Henry didn't appear satisfied with that solution. "You don't want him living with them anyway."

"I think he should go to his father," Henry stated. Molly gave him a stank look.

"Who would that be?"

"We have no idea!" Molly yelled. "Our daughter never told us. His birth certificate is blank where it should say father."

"You have no idea, and you think he's better than your own family."

"I hope he's better. A boy should be taught to be a man from his father. He needs him."

"What about his mother?"

"We don't know where that fool is!" Molly was mad. She didn't want to be there at all.

"When's the last time you saw her?"

"2003, I think." Henry tried to remember. He almost forgot he had a daughter at this point.

The lawyer was confused. "How do you propose we find him?"

"Isn't that what DNA is for?" Henry asked.

"You have his DNA."

"We have Marcus's. I had him put this cotton swab in his mouth." Henry pulled out a plastic container holding 1 cotton swab.

"Not everyone is in the DNA database."

"No, but maybe he has a relative who's in it. They can do familial DNA. I've seen it on CSI."

The lawyer shook his head. "Well, I can take this to a lab and see what information they can provide me. Where was he born?"

"Here's his birth certificate!" Henry handed it to him.

"I'll make a copy and return this."

"Damn right you will." Molly gave him a look.

"DNA might take some time, and it could be expensive."

"We'll pay it. Can they rush it?" Henry exclaimed, over Molly's objections.

"I'll see what we can do."

Washington, DC

Charlie just finished her application. She found two professors to write her recommendations, one of them was the department head. Charlie hoped it was enough.

Her boyfriend didn't like the idea of her being gone for four months, but he saw how excited she was, and he pretended to be happy about it. He did want her to be happy. He just didn't see why she couldn't be happy in DC, not that he didn't understand. In and Out was not in DC

Atlanta, GA

Joyce was in her lawyer's office. "Did he accept your offer?"

"No." _No SHIT you dumb BITCH_

"Then why am I here?" She folded her arms over her chest.

"He sent a counter-offer. As your lawyer, I have a responsibility to show you all offers."

"Yeah Yeah," she interrupted him. "What did he offer?"

"He offered the house."

"Not both houses!"

"He sold the vacation house to pay debts over a year ago."

"He's lying."

"I checked. There's a new owner who has clear title."

"He didn't tell me."

"You signed the deed." He showed her a copy of the deed that had been recorded.

"He must have tricked me."

"That will be very hard to prove. He'll just say you didn't remember. Anyway, we can't get the house from the owner. He's a good faith purchaser, who paid fair value."

"What else!"

"He wants for you both to contribute to a college fund for Charlie, and to keep his pension, his 401k, recover ½ of the debt that he just paid off, and receive 1/3 of the value of the house."

"Is he crazy!"

"It's not a terrible starting point. The house has no mortgage. The taxes are current. It's in good condition."

"No WAY!"

"Well, I need to send a new counter-offer to him."

"Can't I just sue his ass?"

"You could, but I don't know if that's in your best interest. We could likely get him to offer a better deal than a judge would give you to avoid the cost of going to court."

"Well this deal sucks. Don't call me until you have something decent."

"But I have a respons-"

"FUCK your responsibility. Bother me again, and I'll can your ass."

She slammed the door on her way out.

The lawyer sighed. If her daddy hadn't given her a big retainer, he would have quit.

If I were Bobby, what would I want. He tried to imagine his opposition, so he could make an offer they would take. I would want to wipe my hands clean and get away from this bitch. I would pay cash up front before I had to send her monthly checks. No pension or 401k. I would pay 10k to be rid of her ass.

New Counteroffer: Joyce would receive the house, and a 10k payment in consideration of forfeiting any and all rights to his pension and 401k. Joyce will work out any payments for college with Charlie directly.

Like that bitch would give her daughter any money. The lawyer sent it to Cousin Jacob.

Bobby's work.

The day just ended. Bobby was ready to chow down. He was on his way home to eat dinner. His phone rang.

"Hello!"

"Bob what up."

"Clay. What's wrong with you?"

"Can't a man call his brother?"

"You don't call anybody. What's wrong with you?"

"Who are you? Dad?"

"He's on your case again isn't he?"

"If you must know, he thinks my wife and I will grow apart like you and Joyce if I don't spend more time with her."

"WHAT! That's crazy."

"That's what I said."

"We didn't grow apart. Joyce is just a callous bitch. No time would have fixed that."

"I tried to tell Dad..."

"That doesn't mean he's on to something."

"WHAT!"

"You have a wife who loves you and kids who adore you. You should spend some time with them while you can. Life is short dude. You don't want your best years to pass you by with your ass in an office slumped over a desk chugging Monster."

"Who are you and what did you do with Bobby?"

"I met someone Clay. Someone special, and I spend every minute with her I can."

"You just started seeing her, and you're talking crazy."

"I'm starting to see the light. Take her out to dinner. Buy her some chocolate. Send her some flowers. Do something man. You can love her all you want, but if she doesn't see it."

"You're impossible."

"You know I'm right."

"Bye Bob!"

Bobby drove home, whistling all the way. He was going to give Sharon a call when she got home.

Flynn's House

Andrea and Flynn couldn't figure out what to do with all of her stuff. She had nice stuff, but so did he. They didn't need duplicates of everything in the kitchen. They could sell it, but what if Andrea wanted to move back home. They could store it, but what a waste of money.

"Can you just leave it there?" Flynn asked her.

"What did you say?"

"Leave it there."

"That's not a bad idea. Someone might pay more to rent a furnished apartment."

She kissed him and went back to making her list. She was trying to get this just right.

Yoga Studio

Eliza convinced David to come. It sounded like hippy shit to him, but she said it would be good for his body. It wasn't bad to see all these women in yoga pants. David wasn't very flexible. He struggled with the poses. The instructor helped him do variations to make it easier. When the hour was over, she and David walked home.

Out of no where, a man came with a knife. "Give me all your money." David tackled him to the ground. He and the mugger fought, but David kicked his ass. The kid went running.

"That was..."

"You alright." He cupped her face with his hands and looked her up and down.

"Amazing. You were like a superhero."

"Oh Stop."

"No really. If I had been by myself..."

Gabriel silenced her with a kiss on the lips.

Sharon's House

She hadn't seen Rusty in a while. She went away for the weekend. Rusty's been holed up in his room. "How about we go out to dinner?"

Rusty looked up. "What do you have in mind?"

"How about Thai food?"

"Sounds good to me."

Sharon was on her way out the door when her phone rang.

"Let me guess. Dead body."

"Hello. Oh hi Bobby."

"How was your day?"

"Good. Rusty and I are on our way to dinner."

"I won't keep you. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"You're sweet."

"I'm cooking for a barbeque on Saturday. It's a work thing. Would you and Rusty like to come?"

"A barbeque. That sounds nice."

"Great. See you there."

"Bye."

"Ready to go, Rusty."

"How's Loverboy?"

"Oh you stop. Bobby was just inviting me, I mean us, to a barbeque."

"When's the wedding?"

"What! You're talking crazy."

"Really. Because you are totally hung up on him."

"Am not."

"Are so. You totally look hungover once he leaves. You're love drunk."

"Let's go."

Rusty giggled. He liked seeing Sharon so happy. The more time she spent with Bobby, the more time he had for Kyle.

They got to the restaurant. Sharon ordered a tamarind duck. Rusty got pad thai. They chatted about work and school.

"So do you and Loverboy have any plans for Friday?"

"No."

"Too bad. I hear he's a good time."

"You shush." Sharon blushed.

Brenda/Fritz

Fritz had a long day at work. El Torro threatened to kill the judge at his competency hearing, so the courthouse got put on lockdown as they investigated. Fritz got behind on work and had to stay late to catch up. He got home. Bobby was teaching Brenda how to mix spices.

She can't make microwave soup, but she's trying to learn spices. They were making chili.

"Chili for dinner?"

"It's for tomorrow. It's going to simmer overnight. We're eating chicken carbonara tonight."

Bobby had a big skillet of beef and onions sauteing. He added garlic cloves. In another pan, there was pancetta. Bobby took it off the stove, and took out the cubed meat, leaving the fat. "Now, it's time to make the sauce."

Brenda added the fat to a bowl. She added olive oil, raw eggs and parmesan and began to whisk them together.

Bobby added the pancetta to the noodles.

Brenda added some pepper and a pinch of chipotle powder. She kept whisking. She poured the sauce into the pasta, and Bobby stirred it all together. He poured pasta into three different bowls.

They sat down to eat. It was very tasty. Fritz couldn't believe he saw Brenda make a sauce, all by herself. She could cook, with a parole officer to supervise.

Bobby let the meat simmer as they ate. Fritz told them about his day. "He threatened to kill a judge. Who was he Jesse James?"

"He's just a washed up kingpin who's mad he got busted."

"You should send him to Judge Dredd."

Brenda laughed at that. "Or to Grandpa."

"He was the original Judge Dredd."

Brenda's work day was uneventful. The home break in case she forgot about resolved itself. One homeowner confessed. He hated his house and wanted to move. He thought if he robbed his neighbors, his wife would get scared, and they could leave. He apologized and returned all of the stuff.

Saturday Morning

Andrea officially moved her clothes, speakers and personal effects to Flynn's house. She left most of her furniture and kitchen appliances behind. Flynn had plenty of room. She put an ad in the local paper to see if she would get any takers.

Bobby's Work

Bobby had been smoking the ribs and the brisket overnight. Ribs have plenty of fat, but briskets can get a little dry, so Bobby rubbed it in olive oil before he smoked it. He preferred dry rubs for big cuts of meat. He spent a lot of time perfecting his spice mixtures. The crowd was sure to love it.

He then went to making his sauce. He had am amazing spicy-honey BBQ sauce for the ribs. He added a hint of dry mustard to bring out the flavor of the meat. He wanted everything to be perfect. Nothing's worse than a southerner who can't make BBQ. He also wanted it to be perfect for Sharon.

Sharon's House

"Why do I have to go?"

"It's free meat, Rusty."

"I'm sure you're in it for the meat, man-meat."

"Rusty! You're going. We don't have to stay too long."

Rusty really wanted to spend the day with Kyle, but a BBQ it was.

The Rink

Eliza and Gabriel went rollerskating. He hadn't done this since he was a kid. He felt a little wobbly but he dared not fall. Eliza wouldn't let him live that down.

There were a lot of young kids there, zipping by. David had to be careful. Eliza grabbed his hand and led him around. She could skate backwards with ease. She kissed him.

"Now, you're trying to make me fall."

"You already have." She smiled.


	38. The Melting Pot

Brenda and Fritz spent the morning sleeping in.

She woke up with his hands on her stomach. She tried to see if she could get up without waking him. She wiggled to the side.

"Stay in bed, Baby."

Busted. Brenda rolled over to him and kissed him. "It's going to be afternoon if we don't get up."

"So!"

"So, we said we'd go to Bobby's BBQ."

"I didn't say I'd go."

"We're a pair. You're stuck with me." She kissed him again. She then tossed the sheets off of his body, exposing his naked frame.

"Hey." He went to get them back. Brenda rolled on top of him. They wrestled playfully. Fritz battled for position, but he gave up quickly. He lied on his back and Brenda began to service him with her mouth. Fritz was wide awake at this point. Soon, she mounted him. She went for a slow, easy ride. They still had plenty of time before she had to be anywhere.

Fritz kept his eyes closed and enjoyed her work.

"Don't fall asleep on me, Agent Howard."

"Yes Ma'am!"

Provenza gave a call to Flynn.

"Flynn here."

"What the hell's gotten into you?"

"Hello to you, Provenza. What's with the attitude?"

"What's with your ass never being available?"

"I told you. I'm seeing someone."

"Who has you so wrapped around her finger. You never hang out anymore. Are you being held captive?"

"No. I want to spend time with her. She's wonderful."

"What wonderful woman would want you?"

"Very funny."

"You better snap out of this."

"Or else what."

"Or I'll go over there and give this woman a talking too."

"Don't you dare!"

"She's at your place now isn't she."

"Stay away."

Provenza hung up. He was driving by there this afternoon, to see who this mystery lady was.

Andrea was unpacking upstairs.

"Provenza might stop by today."

"All right."

"All right. That's it."

"What's the big deal? You two are friends right."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted people to know."

"I live here now. It's not much of a secret."

He kissed her.

Bobby's Work

The barbeque was a roaring success. People couldn't stop talking about the ribs. Brisket has never been so popular. Rusty had a giant plate of meat.

Sharon laughed at him. "To think you wanted to stay home."

Rusty rolled his eyes and stuffed his face.

Bobby came up to Sharon's side. "How did you like it?"

"This is out of this world, tastes great, nice and tender, and it smells like heaven."

"I hope heaven has a smoker."

She laughed.

"Are you free tonight?"

"Maybe. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could stay in, drink some wine. I can make fondue."

"That sounds lovely."

"Do you have a fondue set?"

"I do actually."

"Great, I'll bring the cheese and some chocolate."

Rusty saw the googly eyes. He knew they were going to spend the night together. Rusty got a text from Kyle. "Hey slut. You busy 2nite."

"Depends on who's asking?"

"Well, I got a new series on Netflix queued up and an empty house. Guess who's parents are on a party on some stupid yacht."

"Well, for you, okay."

Rusty found Sharon. She was beaming. "Someone has a date tonight."

"Oh simmer down."

"Can I go out tonight?"

"Where?"

"A friend's house."

"I will need to call his parents to check. I don't want you at some wild house party."

He gave her Kyle's house number. He then texted Kyle to let him know. Kyle did a great impersonation of his father. Sharon called. and he played it cool. Sharon offered to drop him off. He said Kyle would pick Rusty up to spare her the trouble.

Brenda and Fritz made it to the barbeque, albeit a little late. They had a bit of an afterglow. Brenda made herself a brisket sandwich. She dug in. She didn't notice Sharon come up behind her.

"Hello, Brenda."

She jumped. "Sharon?"

"Nice to see you too, Brenda."

"Oh Hi. Sorry about that. I was enamored with this sandwich. You surprised me."

Sharon laughed. "Bobby is an excellent cook."

"I know right. I have never eaten so well since he moved here. We had this chili last night, oh my GOD!" Brenda went back to stuffing her face.

Fritz was covered in barbeque sauce. He had a plate of rib bones a mile high. He and Brenda failed to eat breakfast that morning. They spent most of the day in bed. "Fritzi, you're a sticky mess." Brenda laughed at him.

"It's so good."

"Will you get me some? Also, wash your face."

"Yes Ma'am."

Fritz went to get her some food.

"Did you have fun at the beach?"

"Yes. It was lovely." Sharon didn't want to go into details. She was seeing Brenda's brother after all.

"Bobby said there was a drum circle."

"Oh yes. There were lots of performers. It was quite a sight."

Brenda laughed in her head. She put on quite a performance last weekend. "You two seem very happy together."

"We are." Bobby had snuck his way into her heart.

"I'm glad."

Fritz came back with more ribs. Brenda promptly began to chow down.

"She really knows how to stuff her face."

"You have no idea." Fritz chuckled. Brenda stepped on his toes. "Ow!"

Gabriel's Apartment.

He hadn't spent any significant amour of time here in weeks. He came home to do his laundry, clean out the fridge and pay his bills. Eliza hadn't been there before. It was clean, but looked kind of boring He clearly hadn't done too much with it since he moved it. "Your place is nice."

"By nice you mean dreadfully dull and boring."

"No. I mean it's not that bad. I mean it could use some color."

"It's nothing like your place."

"Few places are." She kissed him. "If your place was too awesome, you wouldn't come to see me."

"Of course I would." They fell to the bed. That, was not boring.

Night came

Kyle picked up Rusty. Bobby came over with a basket full of food. Sharon opened the door. She wore a little black dress and decorated the place. He greeted her with a kiss.

"You look amazing in that dress."

"You're just saying that."

"You're right. You look amazing when you're naked, but I'll settle for the dress."

"Oh stop."

He kissed her again and washed his hands. He then began to make the cheese fondue. Sharon washed the vegetables he brought. Bobby tossed the bread, and Sharon cubed it. They made a great team. Bobby brought over some brisket. Sharon cubed that and heated it up.

Bobby carefully picked out the spices he wanted to use before he left: garlic, onion, a little rosemary, sea salt, black pepper, and a little crushed red pepper. He also picked several different cheeses. He started with the classic Swiss ones and added a sartori, jack and gouda. He was a perfectionist with his food. He aimed to please.

He also picked out different types of chocolate. He had a dark one a white one and raspberries. He boiled the raspberries, and then strained them. He pureed the berries and added cream. He left it to sit.

Sharon grabbed him from behind and began to rub his chest.

"Are you trying to distract me?"

"Is it working?"

He turned and kissed her. "Yes. If you don't keep your hands off me, there won't be any dinner."

"Hmmm. Let me think about it." She kissed him and pinched his butt.

Kyle's House

They were all alone. It was a pretty big house. Kyle made dinner. He had an apron on that said kiss the cook. Rusty did just that.

"I made French Toast and bacon."

"You call that dinner?"

"I'm better at breakfast."

They sat down to eat. It was pretty good. Big pieces of toast, a berry compote, the bacon was nice and crisp. Rusty had syrup dripping down his chin.

After dinner. They headed to Kyle's room. Kyle had taken the weed from Rusty. They didn't want Sharon to find it. Kyle blended the two strains in his grinder and packed a bowl. He filled the bong with ice water and gave it Rusty to take the first hit.

Rusty light and puffed. The cold smoke went down very easily. They took turns. By the end of it, a light, fluffy feeling overtook Rusty. He lay on the bed, Kyle right by his side. Kyle's lips found Rusty's neck. He started to bite him. Rusty closed his eyes.

Flynn's house

Flynn and Andrea were eating dinner when they heard a knock. Flynn answered it. "What's going on?"

"You know damn well what's going on." Provenza let himself in. He went into the dining room and was surprised to see Andrea.

"Hey Andrea."

"So where's this girl you've been enamored with?"

Andrea and Flynn both laughed.

"You just walked past her."

"What? Andrea you seem like a smart lady. What do you want with him?"

She laughed. "I like him, a lot."

"You don't say. Good for you."

Provenza headed for the door.

"So you show up, uninvited, ready to interrogate, but you're going now?"

"Well I thought you had been brainwashed, but Hobbes, I could see why you stay here all day if she's here. I gotta go. I have a date."

"Of course you do."

"See you Flynn." He was gone.

"That was odd."

"He cares about you, in his own way."

Andy resumed his dinner.

Brenda + Fritz

The married couple ate leftover chili for dinner and snuggled on the couch. They decided to spend the night playing with Joel and Hunter, who often got left home alone. Fritz and Hunter played ball. Brenda and Joel played with a feather attached to a stick.

It didn't take Joel too long to be ready for a nap. Hunter decided to retire as well. Brenda and Fritz cuddled on the couch. "I want you to hold me," she whispered into his ear. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"You smell nice," he told her as his head rested near her hair. She kissed him tenderly, and they watched the discovery channel.

Sharon's house

The fondue was excellent, cheesy, spicy and oh so good. They fed each other. Bobby liked to kiss her neck while she was eating. The sensation tickled her as did the champagne they were drinking. After dinner, she washed the fondue pot. Bobby got the dessert ready. He melted down the white chocolate and stirred in the raspberry cream. He melted down the dark chocolate in a separate container. He put the white chocolate mixture in the fondue pot and added the chocolate through a sieve, so small strands of dark chocolate would mix in with the white. Sharon took a bite. It was outstanding. She let out a moan.

"That good eh!"

She took a strawberry, dipped it into the fondue and fed him. It was awesome. They fed each other dessert. The decadence of the food, and the wine was overwhelming. After dessert, they did the dishes. "Dance with me." Bobby lead Sharon to the living room and put on the music. His arms were around her waist, his hands gently grazing her butt. Her hands were on his big shoulders and she was up close to his chest. Their bodies talked for them as they moved across the floor. They both wanted this moment to go on and on. Eventually, their dancing transformed to kissing, and he led her to the couch. She straddled him, and they were making out intently. He kept trying to get his hands up her dress, but the angles didn't work out for him.

He groped her ass as she moaned against him. Her hips started to rock against him. She could feel his hardness. "Let's go to bed."

He carried her to the bedroom and set her down gently. They undressed each other and got int bed. He started kissing her neck and her chest. His hands knew exactly where to go to excite her. "Go slow," she whispered into his ear. He nodded, and he took his time with her, savoring every inch of her body and every moment. She closed her eyes as he slowly went inside of her. He began to rock against her gently and tenderly. Her legs found their way around his hips and, she moaned. They went at it nice and slow. Her orgasms were like baby waves crashing on the shore. They slowly hit her and quickly washed away.

When they were done, he kissed her. She pulled him close. They stayed in bed. It didn't take long for him to get hard again. He waited for her to make the next move. She kissed him and rolled on top of him. He slid himself in her, and she rode him. She had a magnificent body. Bobby loved to watch her. They were like fire and ice. They both knew how to drive the other one crazy with lust.

Sharon was glad that Bobby let her take control that night. If they repeated last weekend, he might actually kill her. If you could die of orgasms, he would get indicted. He was a fantastic lover. He knew exactly where to kiss, touch, and caress her to get her to cum. He could play her like a fiddle.


	39. Tie your Tie

Andy woke up and he couldn't see. There was something on his eyes. He went to move it, and discovered he couldn't move his arms. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't move his legs either. Something nice and soft kept him bound to the bed. "What the HELL!"

A soft mouth kissed his neck and his cheeks. He could smell Andrea's perfume. "What are you doing?"

She smiled, not that he could see her, and began to kiss her way up and down his body. She softly cupped his manhood and rubbed used a little lube and began to stroke him.

His hips rose of the bed as he tried to escape, but it was futile. Andrea tied very good knots. "If you try and get out," she warned, "they'll get tighter."

She sipped hot chocolate and then bit his nipple. The heat set his nerve endings a blaze. He groaned loudly. She continued to tease his chest and his shoulders. She slipped an ice cube in her mouth and sucked on it for a few seconds. She put the cube in a cup and then quickly sucked him into her mouth

"AAAHHHHHH!" Her icy breath sent chills. She rubbed the cube across his chest. He broke out into a cold sweat. The anticipation driving him insane. She warmed up her mouth again and went back to sucking. She switched between hot and cold. He never quite knew when she was going to change her mind.

He hissed, growled, screamed and cursed as she teased his dick. When he had enough, she began to suck him dilligently. When he was getting close, she sucked another ice cube, and then began licking his nuts.

"AAAHHHHH FUCK!"

She smiled. He was so much fun to torment. He was usually, strong, masculine and in control. She had him undone. She took pity on him and finished him off. He exploded in her mouth. She tickled his chest with a feather, causing him to break out in a fit of laughter.

"You stop that," he yelled between laughs. She untied his arms, and left him to do the rest.

He pulled off his bandana and looked to see Andrea in a little nightie. "Why on Earth did you do that?"

"I woke up, and you looked very delicious. I wanted to have my way with you." Her fingers ran across his chest.

He couldn't be mad at her. It was kind of fun, not that he was going to admit it. "You used my ties."

"They were nice and soft."

He grabbed her and pulled her under him. They started making out. "Now, it's my turn."

Kyle's House.

Kyle was fast asleep. Rusty's back was sore. Kyle was very rowdy in the bed last night. Rusty took a shower. The hot water felt great on his back. He dried off and went back to Kyle's room, looking for his clothes.

"Come back to bed." Kyle muttered as he rolled onto his back.

Rusty walked over to Kyle. "Time to get up."

Kyle grabbed Rusty's hips and rolled him into bed. "Not yet. You smell good." Kyle had no intention of going anywhere. Rusty closed his eyes.

Gabriel's Apartment.

David woke up. He didn't feel comfortable in his own bed anymore. He saw Eliza curled into a ball, big blue eyes looking right at him. "You want me to drive you home."

"You don't want me here?"

"I don't want me here."

"What's wrong?"

"This place doesn't feel right anymore. It hasn't in a long time. This probably sounds dumb."

"No, it doesn't." She cupped his face in her hands. "Let's go." He took a work outfit for the next day, and the day after that and they went to her place.

The Park

Brenda and Fritz took Hunter to the park. They had no idea when Bobby was coming home, and she needed to play. They took her to a field and played fetch. Out of the corner of her eye, Brenda saw these giant fabrics hanging from a tree. "Fritzi, what is that?"

"I dunno. Check it out and come back. I don't want to bring Hunter near too many people."

Brenda wandered over. She saw a woman hanging in the fabric, flipping, swinging and swirling in the air. Brenda was in awe. She was mesmerizing. Brenda didn't notice the man approaching her.

"She's great isn't she."

"Oh Hi! Yes, she is. What is she doing?"

"She's a silk performer. She's worked with the Cirque du Soleil. Right now, she's running her own studio."

"That's great."

"You should give it a try."

"Oh, no. I'd land right on my head."

"You start by the ground, Silly, and you have the figure about it."

"She teaches in the studio down the street," he pointed at what looked like a ballet studio. "Beginner's classes on Tuesday night. You should check it out."

"Maybe I will."

Brenda returned to Fritz and Hunter. "She was amazing Fritzi, swirling and rising and falling."

"She was flipping around on silks."

"Yeah. No harness or mat or anything. She was up really high. She teaches a beginners' class on Tuesdays."

"You going to go."

"Oh no. I'd land right on my head."

"I don't know. I've seen your body do some amazing things."

"Oh Stop."

Hunter barked. She wanted to play. Brenda tossed her the ball.

Sharon's House

Bobby liked to watch Sharon sleep. Her lips were soft. Her breasts rose and fell with her breaths. Just the sight of her was enough to get him hard. He closed his eyes and began to stroke himself. He grunted and groaned as he imagined himself deep inside of her.

Sharon could hear a noise. She rolled over and saw Bobby jacking off. She liked watching him, his muscular body glistening in sweat. Her hand slipped down between her thighs. Just watching him got her wet.

"FUCK!" he muttered. "I wanna fuck you so bad, Sharon."

Sharon smiled. She pushed his hand away. He opened his eyes. She was looking straight at him. She took him in her hands and straddled him. She slowly rubbed him against her wetness, causing him to grunt and growl. "AW FUCK!"

She teased him and then slipped him inside of her. His hands found her ass, and he began to massage it. "OOH! That feels really good." She braced herself on his shoulders. He began to thrust. She ground her hips into him, matching his thrusts. "OH-OH-OH-OH-OOOOOHHH! FUCK ME!" He began thrusting harder. Soon, he flipped her and began to really pound her. "OH YES! YES! YES!"

He grunted and growled as he drove himself into her. Her legs locked around his hips. She didn't want him to stop. She arched her back, and he thrust his face into her breasts, his tongue driving her wild.

"AWWAWAWAW!" she started cumming, hard. He held her through her orgasm and continued to thrust. He gently lowered her onto the bed, his hands gripping her shoulders, and he fucked her into another orgasm. He came in her and then collapsed on the bed.

"Don't leave," she whispered into his ear.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Atlanta, GA

Michael was at the jewelry store, looking for rings. He wanted to find her something perfect. He saw lots of rings. He wanted to get her something sizeable, but he wanted classy, not gaudy. He didn't see exactly what he wanted. They said they would get new pieces in about a week. He said he'd be back.

Cousin Jacob got the letter from Joyce's lawyer. There was no way Bobby should have to pay her 10k, for what?

He would call Bobby about it tomorrow, but he thought it was time to set up a mediation with Joyce's lawyer. He started making a list of non-negotiables. She wasn't touching his 401k or his pension, and he wasn't paying her shit. If she wants money, she can find that plumber. She hadn't mentioned SSI when he retires, so he wasn't going to bring it up.

He heard a loud bang in the back. His neighbor's frisbee hit his gutter again. Damn those kids need to learn how to aim.

Washington, DC

Charlie was picking out new clothes. She had an interview for the semester visit to UCLA, and she wanted to look her best. She found a black skirt and a white blouse. It came with a black blazer, and she got new shoes. She decided to wear her hair up. Hopefully, she'd make a good impression.

Monday

Taylor had the daunting task of looking for Branson's replacement. Did he pick someone from FID? Did he look outside from another department? Did he hire from outside the force? He drank his coffee and sighed.

His secretary was told not to let Taylor be disturbed. She was fielding calls, trying to keep everyone at bay. A lot of people wanted to talk to him, and they didn't care too much that he was busy.

A Lieutenant was running FID in the mean time. It wasn't so hard as long as there was no officer uses of force.

Major Crimes

The DNA came back. It was a match for Stroh. They sent the results to the DA's office. This was their problem now. Their new case involved a string of muggings downtown. They started as purse snatching, but they were escalating in violence. They had a composite of a man. He pulled a knife on two women last week.

Mercy Hospital

A man came into the door with a bruised up face and broken ribs. He walked into the hospital and collapsed on the floor. The nurses rushed to him and began giving him CPR. They attached him to a breating machine and tried to figure out what was wrong with him. He had a broken rib, which had caused a lot of internal damage. He needed surgery now.

The DA's office

Brenda was having a tussle with the FBI. They wanted her to help them, but they didn't want to tell her what all the case was about. She wasn't going half way into a case, either they let her in, or they found someone else. They tried to get Fritz to schmooze her, but he wanted nothing to do with this case. They had an informant who went missing. They weren't sure if he ran away or got axed and they didn't want to tell Brenda that he was an informant because they didn't want to tell her on what he had informed them. Brenda told them good luck and hung up the phone. She had no time for this mess.

Bobby's Work

The building was on schedule, but the board was worried. Their client had just gotten indicted for tax fraud. They weren't sure if he'd be able to pay them or if the government would try to seize the building for lack of payment. They knew the government wouldn't honor the contract. They had their lawyer discuss their options. He told them to keep working as long as their client was paying on schedule. They could put a lien on the building if he didn't pay, and if they recorded it, then any subsequent purchaser, even the government would get stuck with the lien. They would get paid. It just might not be when they anticipated payment. The lawyer also drafted a demand letter for them to send to the manufacturer since his screw up cost them money.

The Museum

Eliza was working with the curator on the lighting for her exhibit. She was excited that the grand opening was coming soon. Her agent asked her if she had anything new coming along.

"I'm still in the concept phase, but I have a new project that should be thrilling, well if the world sees it as I do."

"Great. Keep it up. You're white-hot right now."

Major Crimes

Raydor had Tao send out a sketch of their mugger to the news stations. She was a little worried that the composite might taint later ids, but she was more worried that the mugger would escalate his crimes even further. She was just giving directions to the rest of her team when Taylor's secretary appeared.

"Chief Taylor would like to see you."

"Right now?"

"I wouldn't come later."

Sharon left her team. "Provenza, please get everyone situated." She couldn't believe she left him in charge.

She followed the secretary up to his office. He sat there, staring at his plane. "Oh, Captain. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

_You mean no notice?_ "No problem, Chief."

"So I need a replacement to head FID, and I don't know who to hire."

Sharon didn't know either. She was glad to not have to make such decisions. He showed her a stack of candidates. She read through them. Captain blah blah, Blah, Commander, so and so, etc. They all looked okay, but none of them stood out to her.

"The head of FID," Sharon began, "has to have a great attention to detail and be able to handle getting the brunt of other officer's frustrations. Officers often take it personally when their judgement is challenged. Not, everyone is cut out for this. All of these candidates seem okay, but none of them stand out to me as being exemplary for this job."

"I can't argue with that. I don't know where to go here."

"Have you thought about hiring someone with FID experience in another department?"

Taylor sighed. He liked hiring people from the inside. He knew how he felt when Chief Johnson first got here. "Maybe, your right. I prefer …."

"People on the inside, but FID is a relatively young division. Sgt Elliot would make a great leader with more experience, but he needs more guidance. A more experienced officer could provide that and then the reigns could be passed on to someone here."

"You mean like a mentor."

"Yes."

"Not a bad idea. Thanks." Sharon went back to work. Provenza had the team running smoothly. Tao was looking for the stolen jewelry on craigslist, eBay and had the images sent to pawnshops and flea markets. Sanchez and Sykes were looking through the victims' statements trying to establish an MO. Flynn and Provenza were making a map of the muggings. Criminals often start where they live and branch out as they get more confident. The attacks started in one neighborhood and moved westward across the downtown area.

Tuesday

The FBI couldn't find their informant or any sign of him. The longer it took, the more worried they were.

They had a meeting, a group of stuffy, white men in suits.

"I don't think we should bring a civilian on this case."

"What choice do we have? He was our case."

"We could wait for him to turn up dead like our other informants."

"Very funny."

"I say we call Miss. Atlanta."

"Why should we have to tell her anything?"

"Because we can't find him."

"She closes her cases."

"We've used her help before. She got one informant killed and another one to choose jail over us."

"Case Closed!" People snickered.

Bobby's work.

During lunch, he got a call. "Hello, Jacob what's the haps."

"She sent a counter-offer. She wanted the house and 10k."

"10k for what. I paid for that house she's getting it all. Also, she lives off her daddy's money anyway."

"What money?"

"She has some kind of trust from her dad or granddad or something. She doesn't have to worry about anything."

"Where does this money go?"

"Her clothes, makeup, spa treatments, we used some for vacations."

"Why didn't you mention it?"

"I didn't think it mattered."

"It does. I can use this for mediation."

"When's that?"

"Thursday."

"All Right."

"Anything else about your finances?"

"Uh, I think she might own a rental property with a sister."

"Do you know where it is?"

"116 Main St. Portland, Maine."

"I'll look it up."

Jacob looked up the property. It had been a joint tenancy between Joyce and her sister. They both had conveyed the property to Bobby, and then had been mortgaged. Jacob called Joyce's sister.

"Hello."

"Who's this?"

"This is Jacob, I am an attorney representing Robert Johnson, and I was wondering if you could answer some questions about a property in Maine."

"What about it?"

"The record shows that you and your sister conveyed the property to Bobby in 1995. I was wondering if you could tell me why."

"Oh, we wanted to build a house on it, but I didn't want the house in our name, so we conveyed it to Bobby and had him take out the mortgage."

"May I ask why you didn't want the property in your name."

"Well, I was trying to buy up the other houses on the block and I thought that …."

"They would charge you more if they knew you were seeking all the houses."

"Yeah, so I had Bobby buy that house from me. The mortgage is almost paid off. I made every payment."

"I know, but now Bobby and your sister are divorcing."

"You don't think Joyce would try and take my house."

"She could try."

"We have to stop her." She hated Joyce. "I already sold the other houses and I have a lease on this property."

"How do you have a lease if he owns it?"

"Bobby and I signed a long term lease. He said I could sublet it."

"Can you send me a copy of your lease with him?"

"I'll fax it now."

"That would be great. One more thing, Jacob."

"Yes."

"Give her hell." She hung up.

What an odd family.

Jacob got the lease. It was a 30 year lease with an option for another 20 year renewal. Jacob faxed a copy to the Maine recording office. Now, if Joyce wanted to try and take, it she would be subject to the lease.

Jacob then called Joyce's trustee, her uncle. He told her that she has been getting $5,000 checks every four months for the past 10 years and she would keep getting the checks for another 15.

Jacob made a plan for the mediation


	40. A Home in Maine

Tuesday evening

Brenda stopped by the silks class. She was light which made it easy to climb, but she had trouble holding herself with her arms. The leg holds were a lot easier. It was a lot of fun, but she got tired really fast. She stopped for water. The instructor came up to her. "You're pretty good on your first day."

"Thanks. It's a lot of work."

"I know. Your endurance builds with time."

Wednesday

Prosecutor's office

Brenda got a case file for a Sammy Ryan. He went missing last week. He was 35 and a bartender at a seedy bar downtown. She had a suspicion that Sammy disappeared because of something he saw there. She needed someone to check out this place. Tommy and Jackie came in. "Perfect."

"Hey, I have a job for you two." Brenda wanted them to go to the bar, bring a lot of cash and see what kind of trouble they could get into.

The FBI could handle the surveillance equipment and would be able to collect info that would hopefully lead to Sammy.

Gabriel came in. She asked him to figure out the neighborhood, entrance and egress points, any gang/mob activity, anything that would tell them what they were working on.

Major Crimes

They got a call from the hospital. "I think we found your mugger."

"He's in the hospital? We'll send an officer to arrest him."

"We'll be sending him to you."

"Is he ready to be released?"

"There's nothing we can do for him. He's dead."

"What?"

"He got beat real bad."

The body appeared in the morgue. He matched the composite, or he would have if he hadn't been beaten so badly. He had an ID on his wallet. Rex Quinn. They looked up his address. He lived down the street from the first robbery. They went to his house and found lots of wallets, cash, and some jewelry.

"Now, who killed him?" Sharon wondered.

FBI Office

Fritz got snookered into checking in on his wife. He stopped by her office. "Hey, Brenda."

"Fritzi!" She pulled him into her office and gave him a quick kiss. "What brings my white night here?"

"Work. How's your case going?"

"I just got it. What do they think I am, the ghost whisperer?"

He laughed. "They just want this to be discreet."

"I'll be sure to whisper, hey we're looking for this guy, he was going to roll on you all, but he disappeared. You didn't kill him, right?"

"You silly girl." He kissed her again.

"We have a plan. We need to see these people in action. Do you think the FBI can swing a surveillance van?"

"I think we can do that, but how do you plan on getting into the bar?"

"You think the FBI can come up with cash?"

"For?"

"For money talks. If these people have shady business practices, the easiest way to uncover them is to buy in."

"I'll see." He kissed her again. "Lunch."

"I'd like that."

Major Crimes

Chief Taylor came down. "How's the mugging case?"

"He's dead, Chief." Tao told him.

"Dead?"

"Someone beat his ass, and he died in the hospital." Flynn thought the case was over.

"Can we go home now?" Provenza asked.

"We have to find out who killed him." Sykes piped in.

"Maybe he tried to mug the wrong dude." Sanchez thought this was a satisfactory answer.

"Whoever he got into it with was a good fighter." Morales came up to the squad room. "I see a lot of damage, but I don't see much indication of recipricol injuries."

"Come again."

"This guy was pummled. When people just punch as hard as they can, they often hit the wrong places and cause damage to themselves, a broken hand or wrist for example. Depending on which bones break on the victim, you can predict whether or not the assailant has those types of injuries. I didn't any indication that the killer broke anything by punching the victim."

"So he knew how to fight."

"Yes he did. And he made quick work of this guy. These injuries appear to have happened all at once."

"So we're looking for Mike Tyson, case closed!"

Sharon sighed. "See if there are any boxing gyms around the victim's strikezone. Maybe he tried to mug a fighter on his way home."

"I'll also check for MMA and any other martial arts studios, Captain." Tao was on it.

He found two studios in the area. Flynn and Provenza went to check them out. They brought the composite, but no one admitted to being mugged or to seeing this guy. A lot of these guys were big. A mugger would have to be stupid to attack these people.

They came back to the squad room. "Nothing, Captain."

Prosecutor's office

Gabriel did his research and helped the FBI figure out where they wanted to set up and where to station agents in case a perp made a run for it. He walked past a tv and saw a composite of the mugger. He tried to mug Eliza outside the yoga studio. He came back to find the Chief.

"Chief Johnson?"

"What is it, David?"

"Have you seen the composite of the mugger going around?"

"What about him?"

"He tried to mug me and Eliza outside of her yoga class."

"What happened?"

"He came out with a knife and I punched him a couple of times. He ran away, so I didn't bother to report it. No one was hurt. Should I have said something?"

"You can say something now. I'll call the captain."

_Ring Ring_

Now who could that be? "Captain Raydor speaking."

"Hi Sharon."

"Chief Johnson, how can I help you?"

"Are you still looking for the mugger?"

"We found him."

"Good. Did he confess yet?"

"We have that taken care of. Can we help you?"

"We thought we could help you find him."

"That's not necessary, but thank you for the offer."

"Bye, Sharon."

"Well, Major Crimes already took care of it. Not to worry David."

"All right. Thanks, Chief." David was off, having no idea he killed a man with his bare hands.

Night Time

Tommy and Jackie went to he bar. She wore a leather vest that had a full zipper down the front. She work dark jeans and heels to complete the outfit. Tommy wore a blue button down shirt, a leather jacket and jeans. They wore designer clothes that were expensive, his hair slicked back hers a ring of curls. They were brazen, kissing and groping each other as they interacted with the crowd. Tommy made sure to make himself the center of attention. He bought rounds of drinks and made quick friends. Jackie chatted up the other ladies.

"Payton and I just moved here from Miami," she told the patrons. "We're looking for a new hangout spot, and this feels like our kind of place." The drinks were cheap, very cheap. This place was laundering money for something because they couldn't be profiting on these prices. Tommy did a double shot of whiskey.

A bouncer in the back noticed the new patrons. He started to ask around about them. Apparently, they just moved here, and they seem to have a lot of money to burn. He liked the sound of easy money.

He invited the girl to take a tour. He didn't realize that she had a camera hidden in her necklace. He took her to the back, where there was a private lounge. Wealthy patrons drank bottles in their booths and had women providing entertainment for them. He offered her a line of white powder. "I don't do coke. That's more of Payton's thing."

"What do you like? We have it all."

"Have any edibles?" He came back with a brownie. She offered to pay. He said the first one was free. She took a small bite. She could taste the grass.

"How did you hear about this place?"

"I had a friend when I was in Miami. He told me this place would take good care of me."

"Did he have a name?"

"Does Harley ring a bell? I think he came here with another friend, Sammy."

"You a friend of Sammy."

"I didn't know him myself, but I heard he knew how to find the right kind of places." She took another bite.

"Well, he's a good guy. Haven't seen him around in a while though. He used to come here all the time."

"That's too bad. I was hoping to meet him. If he stops by, will you let me now."

"Sure, but I heard he was going to leave town."

"Really?"

"Yeah, something about a new gig in San Antonio."

"Thanks again." She tucked the brownie in her purse and made her way back to the bar.

Tommy was making plenty of friends, or Payton was, whatever. He learned all about this place. Apparently, people got trashed in the front and then blew their money in the back. He heard the best night to come was Saturday. That was when things got really wild. "Yall know a guy named Sammy. He told a friend of mine to hit this place up. I was going to buy him a drink, or 5 given these prices."

"He hasn't been here in about a week now, which is odd. He's always here, having a good time."

"What's his vice?"

"He always was a fan of the angel dust."

Jackie slipped her arms around Tommy and gave him a kiss. "You want to come back on Saturday?"

"Yeah!" They bought everyone another batch of drinks and then headed out.

"You didn't learn anything useful," the FBI agent complained.

"I learned plenty," Brenda told him.

"Like what?"

"We know, one they are selling drugs in the back and have escorts made available to the clients. We know your informant was well liked and has been a part of this scene for a long time and he had a penchant for PCP, which very well may mean that the information he gave you was unreliable."

"You think he was talking junk."

"Who knows? But what makes you think this guy was killed. How do you know he didn't overdose or run away."

"Why would he run? He was getting immunity."

"At the expense of people to whom he seemed very close. Maybe he took the deal to escape the charges, but he didn't want to carry through. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a suicide."

The FBI did not like the sound of this at all.

Jackie offered the brownie as evidence.

"You ate some of it."

"I wanted to fit in."

"Everyone seemed to like this guy," Tommy commented. "I find it hard to believe he was going to put all these people in the line of fire."

"As do I, Tommy."

They all went home.

Thursday

Jacob went to mediation with Joyce's lawyer, who went first. "Our position is that Joyce has depended on Robert for several years. He has an obligation to help her maintain her quality of life for a few yeas until she can readjust. She requests the house, a 10k cash payment, and alimony for the next three years."

Jacob went next. "Joyce is not dependent on Robert. She has a trust fund that pays her 15k a year. She is young enough to return to work, and she is well-educated. Robert also paid off all of her debt. It is more than reasonable for her to take the house and nothing else, especially since Robert paid for it. In consideration for Joyce taking the marital home free and clear, we request that Joyce repudiate any interest she had in his Portland, Maine property, which is currently encumbered with both a mortgage and a lease."

Joyce's lawyer was stunned. She mentioned no trust fund nor any Maine property. "What property?"

"Yesterday, I discovered that Joyce and her sister sold a piece of property to Bobby. Since she has already received market value for her share of the land, we think that is all she is entitled to."

"What is the state of the property now?"

"It is currently encumbered with a 20 year mortgage and a 30 year lease."

Joyce's lawyer sighed. Given the economy, he wasn't sure it was worth it to get involved into a house with a mortgage. "I assume you brought the documents about the land."

"I did."

The lawyer examined the documents. "He leased it to her sister?"

"Yes."

"So she controls the property."

"Currently."

He didn't want to get involved with a sibling dispute. "What does Bobby plan on doing with the property?"

"He'll probably sell it to the sister, unless Joyce ties it up in unnecessary litigation."

The father was footing the bill. He thought it was best to leave this property the way it was. He called Joyce. "Hey, I'm currently mediating with Bobby's lawyer."

"What did he offer? How much money?"

"We are currently trying to resolve your sister's house."

"What does she have to do with it?"

"She apparently sold it to Bobby, but she wants it back."

"Can I get it from him?"

"I was hoping you would give up any interest."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Currently, the land has a long term lease, which will make it hard to sell. If you sue him for half, then the land will have two owners, which means you will have to share the property together."

"What?"

"You will be tied to him for the next 10 years at least."

"No way! I want nothing to do with him."

"Then give up the house."

"Fine whatever, get this done, ASAP." Joyce hung up. She heard Michael might propose soon. She wanted to get divorced soon, so she could get a ring on it.

The lawyer went back to Jacob. Our client would be willing to give up her interest in the property, for a fee.

"Really?" Jacob was ready to agree, but then he remembered the advice from Brenda's lawyer. Every offer you get means the opposition will likely settle for less. See how low they can go. Jacob was gonna play hardball. "It sounds like she wants to get out of this marriage fast. She's ready to give up a house, and she doesn't give up anything. Does she have a new husband lined up?"

"I don't know why you would even think such a thing."

"I think we could come to a deal, but Joyce isn't getting a dime."

"What exactly are you offering?"

"Joyce takes the marital home free and clear. We stay away from her trust fund. We don't come after her for any of the debt she ran up. That's it."

"You think this is a satisfactory offer."

"I think your client is a short-fused woman who wants out of this marriage and this deal now is better than what she will get at trial minus what she is paying for your services."

"I'll take it to my client."

Jacob left. He had the upper hand for once.


	41. Fuck da Police

Washington, DC

Charlie killed her interview. The panel loved her energy and her enthusiasm. They also liked that she had family in Los Angeles who could help support her transition. She smiled and walked back to her dorm room.

Her boyfriend was waiting. "How'd it go?"

"I nailed it." She kissed him. He was glad to see her happy, but he was apprehensive about her going away.

"Now, I got to get to work. I have a lot due tomorrow."

They started to study. Charlie was really special. He didn't see how no one in LA would notice. He didn't want to lose her, but it seemed inevitable.

Atlanta, GA

The lawyer called Joyce's father. His first question was how much money was she getting. He explained that he thought getting the property free and clear was a better option.

"Why not money?"

"This house is nice. Bobby built it himself, so he didn't pay all that much, and it's value has risen considerably over time. She can sell it, rent it and get a lot of cash. If she goes for alimony, if he loses his job, the money is gone. Also, going to court will cost a lot. It might be financially sounder to take the property now instead of litigating for several months. Also, she might lose the alimony petition."

"Why wouldn't she win?"

"Alimony is to help divorcees maintain their quality of life after the divorce. She has a trust fund available and is young enough to work. She's keeping the house, so Bobby has to pay for a new place to live. Courts will look at this. They might decide he needs his money to start over, and she gets nothing. Also, Bobby has a leg up on us."

"How?"

"It seems that Joyce wants out of this marriage asap. She has a new boyfriend. Somehow, Bobby found out. He knows she doesn't want a trial."

"Fine. If you think this is a good offer, take it. I'll get Joyce to sign."

"Thank you, Sir."

This wasn't orthodox at all. It should be about what Joyce wants, not what everyone else thinks is reasonable, but Joyce is a big Bitch. Even her lawyer was ready to write this off.

Prosecutor's Office

Brenda spent the day looking for signs of Sammy. She tried hospitals, drug rehabilitation centers, unclaimed bodies in the morgue. She finally got a response. He had been put in a mental hospital after climbing a barbed wire fence and trying to seize barrels of oil from a warehouse. They took him to a hospital, and he got committed after acting crazy for days. Brenda asked if he had been drug tested. They said he got a normal workup. "Did that cover PCP?"

"No. It's so rare, we seldom test for it."

"Well, it's likely that he has an addiction, and he's been under a lot of stress."

"We can have his sample reanalyzed."

Brenda thanked them and hung up. She called the FBI

"Found your informant."

"Alive?"

"Yes, actually, but he's in no condition to testify. He's currently in a psych ward."

"WHAT!"

She relayed the story.

"How could this have happened?"

"Let me see," Brenda was going to drag this out. "You found an unstable man with a drug addiction. Threatened to jail him if he didn't rat out his friends. Sent him to get more information for you, so you could prosecute his friends, and did nothing to safeguard him: no rehab, no counseling, nothing. You just left him alone against the world and hoped for the best. Somehow, his friends didn't find out his betrayal. The guilt tore him up along with the fear of retaliation, so he took a massive dose of PCP, lost what was left of his mind, climbed a barbed wire fence and tried to steal barrels of oil from a warehouse."

"You make it sound like we're not on the same side. This is law enforcement after all."

"We're here to protect and to serve. Who did you protect? Who have you served? I'm all for getting witness cooperation to take down criminals, but witnesses are people too. Did it ever occur to you that you owe a responsibility to people, when you put them in harm's way?"

"You're giving me a lecture on protecting witnesses."

"My witnesses don't end up in body bags." That was mostly true, other than Wesley, but he started killing his friends, so she couldn't help him there.

"Only your suspects."

"I found him okay. Maybe, you should try to give a damn about his well-being, but why would the FBI care now. He won't make a good witness at this point."

Brenda hung up. _What arrogant oafs!_

Tommy looked glum.

"What's wrong?" The chief asked him.

"This seems so rotten. Yes, they were breaking the law, but they didn't hurt anyone, and this poor guy is trapped in a looney bin. It seems like he's a nice guy. Everyone there loved him." Tommy had his fare share of partying in college. He didn't like the idea of him or any of his friends ending up like this.

Jackie rubbed his head.

"I talked to the ward. They didn't know about the PCP. Hopefully, they can get him into a rehabilitation center."

"Maybe we could visit," Jackie offered.

"I don't think they let non-family members visit."

"He doesn't have a family anymore, only child. Parents dead."

He really is alone against the world, Brenda thought.

Major Crimes

"Do we have anything to go on?" Sharon asked her team.

"No! What's there to figure out. He was unemployed, behind on rent, seems to have no family or friends in the area. There's no indication that his death was pre-meditated, or intentional. He probably got in a fight mugging the wrong dude." Flynn saw no reason to be investigating

"We can't just sit on our chairs. We have a case."

"We have no leads. We don't know where he got beat up or who he was trying to mug or anything else."

"We know something," said Tao. We know where he started and where he was branching out. If we do a sweep along the edge of where he did his muggings just before last Thursday, maybe we'll figure out where the intended victim had come from or maybe we'll find a security camera or something."

"Finally, an idea. Can you get any security camera footage from Thursday, Lieutenant Tao? Everyone else, start canvassing."

"Bollocks," Provenza muttered.

"What was that I heard?"

"Nothing." _Suck my bollocks_

Sanchez and Sykes tried lots of shops and office buildings but no one remembered anyone suspicious lurking about. Flynn and Provenza were coming up empty too, until they saw a yoga studio. Provenza wondered in, plenty of attractive women in tight pants. He loved it. Flynn felt creepy. "We should leave he said?"

"Why, will Queen Hobbes punish you?"

"Shut it!"

"What? I bet she'd look great in yoga pants. You should buy her a pair or maybe I will."

"You will do no such thing!"

"Chill Andy, I'm just messing with you. Why would I spend money, so you could see her in yoga pants?"

"Can I help you gentlemen?" A man came to the front. He was not amused.

They pulled out their badges. "We're investigating a mugging that happened in the area. Did anyone report anything to you last Thursday?"

"No one said anything about that. We have the same classes every Thursday. You could, of course, come back at the same time and ask people."

"We'll do that!"

"Now, it's time to go."

They headed back to the squad room.

"Nothing!"

"Not totally nothing Captain." Tao had some news. "We have footage of our victim walking past a convenience store towards the west, and he's running back 20 minutes later. Look."

They watched the video. He was scrambling to get away. Unfortunately, it didn't show any fight. Can Buzz enhance the video when he's running? I want to see if we can see his face through the reflection of that glass.

Buzz enhanced it. Their victim was definitely beaten in that 20 minute span.

"That's right by the yoga studio," Flynn noted.

"We're going back there tonight, same time. Maybe one the regulars saw something."

"It's worth a shot." Of course Provenza wanted to work in a yoga studio.

Brenda/Fritz

The trio had dinner. Brenda and Bobby made burgers.

"I hear you gave an earful to Agent Humboldt today."

"I got fed up with the whole thing. They took this really unstable guy with a drug addiction and rode him to rat out his best friends, without any regard for what might happen to him. The poor guy is in an institution now. No family, none of his friends know where he is. He's all alone with white walls."

"You don't think they meant to do this?" Fritz was surprised at Brenda's position, especially when she got an alcoholic drunk to get him to confess to murder. Also, he got killed later.

"Of course they didn't mean to, but tell that to Sammy. Doesn't make an iota of difference to him."

Fritz realized this was a losing battle. Maybe that was a good thing that Brenda thought more of people than a means to a law enforcement end. "They were trying to take a dangerous supply network out of the market. Drugs hurt a lot of people."

"Dangerous network my foot. They were just rich partygoers popping bottles and screwing hookers."

"Sounds like a good time," Bobby said. "Not that I would ever consider such behavior."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Everything he told the FBI was probably a lie. Who would build an entire case based on the word of a PCP addict?"

"He's addicted to PCP?" The report didn't mention that .

"Yes, and the FBI thought he could make a reliable informant. He probably thought he was a lion the whole time."

"Did they even know that about him?"

"They didn't bother to find out, not that this is uncommon. Narcotics did the same thing, spent two years building a case based on the babbling of a meth addict. They thought they were chasing down a meth ring. It was just a 45 year old man selling car insurance."

"Great cover right, get you're meth from all-state, it will put you in a better state." Bobby loved making quips.

Brenda and Fritz bust out laughing. "You don't think all drug busts are a waste of time."

"Of course not Fritzi, but maybe the FBI could look harder for sober sources."

"Can't argue with that."

They finished their burgers and went on with their evenings. Bobby was taking Sharon swing dancing tomorrow. He needed to shine his shoes. Fritz had more paperwork to fill out. Brenda got a text from Gabriel. "Help."

She called right away.

Major Crimes.

Yoga studio

It was a great class. Eliza mastered a new pose. She felt fantastic, at peace with her inner demons. At the end of class, two older men appeared.

"Class," the instructor began, "these are two police officers. They would like to speak to you about a mugging last Thursday."

"Hi, everyone. There was a mugging last Thursday about the time this class got out, and we were wondering if there were any witnesses. "

_Gabriel said they caught the guy already_, Eliza thought.

"He's not still on the loose is he?" The girls were panicking.

"Ladies, Ladies. He will not be here tonight. We are sure of it. We just need to know if anyone saw anything."

Eliza didn't know what to do. Gabriel hit that guy pretty hard. She didn't want him to get in trouble. She also didn't want to see that dreadful man again. She kept her mouth shut.

Flynn noticed a girl wasn't looking at them. After class was over, he tried to talk to her, but she got away quick.

"I thought you had a girlfriend, Flynn." Provenza chided.

"Did you see the way she kept looking down? She saw something." Flynn got her name from the instructor.

Eliza hopped into Gabriel's car. "Drive, please."

He hit the gas. "What's wrong, Baby?"

"There were cops at the class tonight."

"Cops? Why?"

"They were asking about the mugging."

"What went wrong"

"I didn't want to tell them about the fight."

"Why not?"

"I didn't want you to get in trouble."

"Why would I get in trouble?"

"I don't know. You hurt him pretty bad."

"I was protecting you. He had a knife."

"I know that, but I'm afraid of the police. I don't want to testify."

"You're not afraid of me."

"You're different."

"What if they find me."

"How would they find you?"

"This one officer tried to talk to me. I fled."

"You fled."

"I didn't run. I just walked briskly and didn't stop."

"You have an expressive face. He's going to come looking for you. Did he say his name?"

"Lieutenant Flynn."

David's face fell.

"Is that bad? Do you know him?"

"We used to work together. He's going to know something's up."

"I can't go home. What if they're waiting for me?"

Gabriel texted the Chief and kept driving. _Ring Ring_

"Hello, Chief."

"What's wrong, David?"

"I have a problem. The police came to Eliza's yoga class."

"Why?"

"They wanted to ask about the mugging. Eliza fled before they could talk to her."

"Why would she do that?"

"She was afraid to get me in trouble. She got scared."

"I could understand that."

"You can. I can't."

"She cares about you. Every woman wants a man (or woman) who can keep her safe. The last thing she wants is for him to be punished for it."

"I guess I could understand that, but I don't understand what's going on. If they already have the guy, why would they be looking for witnesses. Wouldn't the victims suffice?"

"I don't know either. Sharon was pretty nondescript on the phone."

"What should I do?"

"Call your union rep? You need advice before you talk to them. This whole incident might trigger an FID investigation."

"Not another one!"

"Maybe you two should come here. I bet Eliza could use some rest."

"Thanks Chief."

They arrived 20 minutes later. Brenda grabbed her a blanket and made her some cocoa. David was on the phone with his union rep. Fritz was surprised to see them there. "Brenda, can we speak in the bedroom?"

"What's going on here? Who's the distraught girl."

"It's David's girlfriend. That mugger tried to mug her last week and she's shaken up."

"You said they caught the guy."

"They did. The police came to the studio looking for witnesses, but she doesn't want to be a witness, so she bounced."

"We're hiding a witness from the police."

"We're not hiding her from anything. She just needs to get some rest."

Eliza calmed down. Gabriel slipped his arms around her. "You're going to be fine." He kissed her cheek. She fell onto his chest.

"Her name is Eliza Hendricks," Flynn told Provenza. According to her yoga registration form, she lives in a loft.

They called the Captain. She said to pay Eliza a visit. They drove by her place. "She's not here Captain. I suspect she won't be tonight."

"Well at least we have something."

"Sounds like nothing to me," Provenza muttered.

"We have a lead. Let's resume tomorrow."

Friday

Eliza stayed with David at his apartment. They both were thankful that he had an apartment at that point. His union rep said to call him if the police wanted to ask him questions. Eliza could ask for an attorney, but she didn't commit any crime, so she could be compelled to testify if need be. David kissed her on her head. "Just tell the truth. It will be okay."

Major Crimes

Flynn got the stats on Eliza. "She's a sculptor, sketch artist and painter. She has a collection opening up in two weeks. Apparently, she's a hot shot."

"Maybe her boyfriend beat him up, so she doesn't want to talk."

"Do we know who that is?"

"No."

Flynn got an idea. He called the yoga studio. "Hey, did Eliza come with anyone last week?"

"She came with a tall guy."

"Did tall guy have a name?"

"Let me look. He signed in as David, I can't read the last name."

"Can you fax us the sign in sheet?"

"Sure."

Tao got the fax. He froze at the sheet. "I know why Eliza didn't want to talk to you."

"What is it?" They all looked up.

"It appears, she went with one David Gabriel." Michael Tao sighed.

"What?" Provenza was not happy

"He must be her boyfriend or something." Sykes offered

"Why didn't he report this when it happened?" Flynn was confused

"Maybe he knew he hit the guy too hard." _Sanchez would have killed the man if he came after his girlfriend._

"Maybe he didn't think anything of it?" Raydor said. "If Gabriel hit the guy and the guy ran off, he might have thought it was just a failed mugging. Our victim didn't die until several days later, and he wouldn't have died if he got treatment earlier."

"So Gabriel punched a dude to death?" Provenza couldn't believe this.

Sharon thought back. That's why Brenda called me. I thought she was just nosing in on my case.

Prosecutor's Office

Gabriel got the dreaded call. He called his union rep and came to the station.

He walked into Major Crimes, on the wrong side of the line, yet again. It was never this bad though.

"David, are you alright?" Tao was worried.

He nodded, not in a talking mood.

"Interview one, we need to get FID."

"My union rep is on his way." Provenza patted his shoulder. Flynn gave him a sheepish look. Even Sanchez felt like Gabriel didn't deserve this.

Sgt. Elliot was sent to start the interview. "Please state your name for the record?"

"You know my name."

Elliot stared at him.

"Detective Sgt. David Gabriel."

"Now, would you kindly recount the events of last Thursday evening."

"Eliza and I were walking home. We were going to stop and pick up something to eat on the way back. This man jumped out of the shadows with a knife and said "Give me all your money." I punched him and tried to get the knife out of his hands. I held his wrist down but he wouldn't let it go. I was just trying to get him to drop it. When he was clearly defeated, I backed away. He ran off."

"Why didn't you report it?"

"I just wanted to get her home. We took a longer route just to get out of the neighborhood."

"Why don't you just park."

"The spots fill up fast. You'd have to get there really early to get one."

"How did his ribs get injured?"

"I have no idea."

"You fought him."

"I don't know what happened to his ribs. I hit him in the face and tried to get the knife from him. I didn't touch his ribs."

"So you have no idea how his rib broke, pressed into his internal organs and killed him."

"He's dead!"

"You didn't know."

"I knew a creep tried to pull a knife on my girlfriend and mug her. No one said he was dead"

"Do you think your use of force was appropriate?"

"I had fists in a knife fight. You tell me."

"Looks like you've been around the ring a couple of times. He looked like a blackberry when he died."

"I couldn't take any chances. I had to protect Eliza and myself."

"Why didn't you report it once it was on the news?"

"I tried. I heard Major Crimes had it taken care of. They didn't need my help."

"They didn't need the help of the man who killed him."

"No one told me he was dead."

When did you call them?

"The Chief called the other day."

"The Chief?"

"Chief Johnson."

Sharon sighed.

"She called you," Flynn was confused. "We spent all this time looking for Gabriel and you didn't even answer your phone."

"I answered my phone. I didn't realize that she was trying to tell me that Gabriel punched the guy. She said that they might be able to help find him. We already found him."

Flynn shook his head. He spent all this time away from Andrea for no reason.

"I liked going to the yoga studio." Provenza was beaming.

"So Chief Johnson called."

"She said it was under control. I don't know what she said. I thought it was over."

"You didn't think beating him to a pulp was a relevant factor."

"He didn't look that bad to me. I assumed he wasn't going to complain about being punched by someone he was trying to mug. Not exactly a winning argument at trial. I still can't believe that I punched him to death."

"He didn't look that bad?"

"It was dark. It's not like you can see bruises instantly."

The interview ended. It would be hard to prove that Gabriel used excessive force. He faced an assailant with a knife. He had a civilian in harms way. He didn't use a weapon of any kind. He backed down when he realized the mugger was weak.

Sgt. Elliot wasn't pleased that no one followed protocol. Gabriel didn't report it. Chief Johnson kind of almost reported it. Captain Raydor pretty much missed it entirely, and she used to run FID.

"My report is due soon. I must be going."

David and his union rep went to leave. On the way out, Sanchez stopped him.

"Hey!"

"Hey Julio."

"You look like you could use a drink, or five."

"I wish. I have to head back to work."

"We're not going to throw you under the bus. We'll figure this out."

"I know. Thanks."

Prosecutor's office.

"What did I do?" Brenda whined into the phone. "I didn't follow protocol. I don't work for LAPD anymore. Screw your stupid protocol." She did not want to talk to Elliot.

"What I said to Sharon isn't your business. You want to know. You ask her." Brenda hung up. She was not snitching on anyone.

Tommy and Jackie looked at each other. They decided to make a reprise at the bar on Saturday and tell Sammy's story, that he was in the hospital, and he needed friends. They left out the FBI part.

Gabriel came back to work.

Brenda sent him off. "Go home. Take Eliza to dinner or something."

He turned around and left.


	42. Passion

Atlanta, GA

Michael proposed Thursday night after the opera. He gave her a placeholder ring, his mother's, and promised to buy her a ring of her choosing over the weekend. She wanted more than ever to be out of her marriage. She wanted to get married at Christmas, and she wanted him to take her on a very expensive honeymoon to Europe.

She called her lawyer. "You have a deal yet."

"We worked out an agreement in mediation. You could get the house free and clear and …."

"Good. I'll sign it."

"I should explain the terms fully..."

"I don't care. I'm coming to sign it now."

Joyce signed the agreement. He sent it to Jacob to get Bobby's signature. This mess was almost over.

Mental Institution

Brenda let Jackie and Tom go to the hospital and see if they could visit Sammy. They pretended to be his cousins. He was doing better that day. They stopped giving him anti-psychotics, once they realized he was not schizophrenic. They gave him valium to try and deal with his anxiety. He was in a lot of pain from his injuries trying to climb that fence, but he was glad to be off the Halidol.

"Hi Sammy, how are you?"

"Who are you?"

"We're here to see how you're doing. We met your friends and figured out you were here. They're all worried about you. They don't know what happened to you."

"I have to worn them. The fuzz is coming for them, and it's all my fault."

"I wouldn't sorry about the fuzz anymore. I have a feeling their case has more holes than Swiss cheese."

"I tried to keep the FBI on the wrong trail. I told them this led to a big drug cartel in San Diego, and I was hoping they would leave to go look for them."

Tommy and Jackie looked at each other.

"When can I get out of here?"

"I don't know. You need to find a rehab center. Can you afford one?"

"Can you get Harry?"

"Who's Harry?"

"He sends my checks every month. Dad didn't want me to have control of the estate. I've been kind of a screw up."

Jackie and Tommy looked at each other.

"Do you know Harry's last name?"

"Jones. He lives in Hollywood."

"We'll look for him."

Eliza's Apartment

Eliza was not feeling like her normal self. She was unearthed by the whole mugging debacle and she couldn't focus on her work. She threw out draft after draft, none of them good enough. David took her pencil from her hand. "Relax. You're going to run out of paper."

Water filled Eliza's eyes. She never lost her drawing connection before. "I have an idea," David whispered in her ear. They got into the car and he drove out of the city.

"Where are we going?"

"Surprise."

They got to an open field. There was a little shack. They went to the shack. "$30" the man said. Gabriel handed the man cash, and they got white suits and goggles. He pointed to the dressing room. David and Gabriel changed. They went out the side door outside.

"What is this place?" Eliza asked.

Gabriel said nothing. He went to a bucket, picked up a pink ball and hit her with it. The ball exploded with paint. Eliza couldn't believe it. Gabriel ran away. She chased him. She missed the first couple of times, but finally got him with a yellow ball. They ran back and forth chasing each other about the field. David tackled her and gave her a kiss.

Eliza was exhausted. She was sweaty, dirty and covered in paint. She looked at Gabriel and smiled. Earlier, she felt like something had been taken from her. She just got it back.

They spent the rest of their time watching clouds.

"This is the best date I ever had," she told him.

"It's just the beginning."

They showered and left, both of them still had a little paint on them. David next drove them to a park. He rented them bicycles, and they rode around. The fresh hair was amazing. Eliza would peddle as fast as she could and then get tired. Gabriel kept a more consistent pace.

They made their way around the park several times.

FBI Office another meeting

"Great help Miss. Atlanta was."

"She found the guy."

"In a mental ward."

"She didn't put him there."

"Our case is garbage."

"She didn't build it."

"There was drugs in the back of the bar."

"Those fools were partying, not major dealing, and they can probably all can afford great lawyers."

"What a failure!"

"Any news on the El Torro case?"

"He tried to attack the judge."

"Awesome."

The Tailor

Bobby picked up his zoot suit. He had a matching fedora and a flask. He was going to take Sharon out for a wonderful night

He wanted to make a 1940s style dinner, but it was war time. Food was mostly canned soup and beans. He was going to substitute for a classic French dinner.

He bought sole filets, goat cheese, a mix of greens and pistachios and walnuts. He was going to make quite a treat

Major Crimes

The team was not happy. No one wanted to see David in trouble, for protecting his girlfriend from a thug no less.

It looked like the Captain was in trouble as well.

She sat across the table from an angry Lieutenant.

"Why didn't you report David to FID?"

"I didn't know he was involved."

"Are you saying Chief Johnson didn't call you and tell you that David fought the mugger?."

"She called me, but that's not what she said."

"She said that she told you David fight the mugger, and you told her to stay quiet. That it would be better if David said nothing. No one would notice a dead mugger."

"That is ridiculous. Chief Johnson wouldn't make up such a story."

"Are you saying she's lying?"

"Someone is lying, that is certain."

"So what did Chief Johnson tell you, according to you."

"She offered to help find the mugger. I told her there was no need, had we already found him. That was the end of the conversation."

"So she never told you there was a fight with David."

"No."

"Interesting. I wonder who the jury will believe."

"Can I go now? I have work to do."

"Do you have something to hide?"

Sharon got up and left. The whole thing was stupid. No way Chief Johnson cooperated with FID.

Sharon went back to her squad room.

"OOOOOHHH!" Provenza called. "Someone's in the FID dog house."

The team snickered. The irony was pretty hilarious.

"Very funny!"

"Learn anything new from the fuzz?"

"No, other than the fact they're grasping at straws."

"Did they talk to Eliza?"

"They didn't mention her, but this is there case now. It's their job to find her."

Sharon got called into Taylor's office.

"Don't tell me you purposefully hid David from FID?"

"No, but if my memory serves me correct, when I was running FID …."

"Don't you worry about that." Taylor knew he was the pot calling the kettle black.

"I had no idea David fought the mugger. Chief Johnson and David didn't know how severe his injuries were. No one intended to mislead anyone."

Taylor sighed. "FID is going to have a field day with this anyway. I heard the girlfriend hid from the police."

"Apparently, she was scared when Provenza and Flynn came to the studio, so she fled."

"She's dating Gabriel, but she's scared of the police?"

"She thought David was in trouble. She didn't want to talk. We tried her apartment, but she didn't go home."

"You didn't try David's apartment."

"We didn't know he was her boyfriend until this morning."

"Maybe it's better that way. FID might have tried to accuse you of tampering with a witness."

Sharon shook her head.

"Maybe Major Crimes should just take the rest of the day off."

Sharon sent everyone home and went home herself.

She took a bath and soaked in the tub. She had no intention of going anywhere.

Prosecutor's Office

Brenda was alone in the office today. When she got a call from Jackie and Tommy about a Harry Jones, she tracked him down and gave him a call. "Hi, is this Mr. Jones."

"My name is Brenda Leigh Johnson. I am the chief of bureau investigations at the Prosecutor's Office."

"What did Sammy do?"

"He took a large dose of PCP then he climbed a fence. He got sent to a mental hospital because they thought he was schizophrenic. He needs rehab. Could you get him placed in a clinic?"

"You're not calling to jail him."

"No. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not. I usually just expect the worse, especially when the law calls me. I've tried to help this kid out, but he's been a mess ever since his parents died. He never felt that he lived up to his father's expectations, and he just hides behind the drugs."

"He must be good at something."

"He would have made a great restauranteur. He loves food. He is great with people, and when he's sober, he can make a great sales pitch."

Brenda thought about her brother. He could be a great executive chef for a BBQ joint, but she did not want to set him up with a PCP addict.

"I bet he could still. He just needs some hope, and a lot of therapy."

"I'm coming to get him right away."

Brenda shook her head. She hated to see someone with a talent throw it away from addiction. She thought about her husband. He got a second chance. Sammy faces 5 years because he succumbed to a chemical and not a fermented grain. The whole thing seemed arbitrary to her. She didn't like the idea of Fritz going to jail and never getting help.

She headed home. Her work was done. She saw Flynn on her way out. _Someone's looking to get lucky_.

Andy found his lover glued to her computer. She typed for a minute, not realizing he opened the door.

"Flynn. Why aren't you at work?"

"All of Major Crimes got fired."

"Oh you! Really, what happened?"

"We were looking for someone who beat the crap out of a mugger. Turns out, it was Gabriel. He was with his girlfriend. Punk tried to mug her. Big mistake. Anyway, we got kicked off the case."

"Is he alright?"

"David's fine. The mugger, however, is dead."

"Oh God."

"At least Branson is gone. I couldn't imagine that."

Andrea went back to typing. "I'm almost done with this report. Then, we can go, okay."

"Of course. Take your time.

Sharon's House

She dried off and wore her bathrobe. She got a text message. "Will be there in an hour?"

Aw crap! Sharon was in no mood to go out. Maybe we could stay in tonight.

She lounged in her bathrobe.

She saw Rusty come out wearing a button down shirt and slacks.

"Where are you going all dressed up?"

"My friends wanted to go to this Spanish place. I wanted to look nice."

"Teenagers, at a fancy restaurant?"

"What can you say. We're a class act I guess."

"How are you getting there?"

"Kyle's picking me up."

"You two have been spending a lot of time together."

"He's a good kid."

"I'm glad." Sharon suspected Rusty liked Kyle, but she didn't want to pry.

Kyle came to the door with a set of lilies.

"What kind of dude brings flowers?"

"They're not for you, Rusty." Kyle handed them to Sharon.

"You shouldn't have."

"Not a problem."

"He can't help himself. He's an ass-kisser." _Literally_ Rusty thought to himself.

"Rusty, be nice."

"Yeah, Rusty. Ready to go."

"Yep. Bye Sharon."

"Don't stay out too late."

"Don't you have a date," Rusty responded as he was out the door.

"Crap!" Sharon thought. She scrambled to put on a dress and get her make up on. She was just finishing up, when the doorbell rang.

Sharon rushed out to greet Bobby.

"Hey, Baby." He kissed her and scooped her into his arm. "I brought everything I need to make you an excellent dinner."

"You're so jazzed up."

"What else would I wear swing dancing?"

_Crap! I forgot._

"Not very forties," he told her. "But very sexy." He kissed her again.

"Oh stop!"

"No really, the 1940s wasn't a sexy time for women. There was no cleavage, kind of drab patterns. You look hot."

Sharon blushed. "What's for dinner?"

"You'll see. Put on some music and let me surprise you."

Bobby got to work. He started with the dessert. Once, it was in the oven. He made the side dish.

It was hard for Sharon not to watch. She wanted to know what smelled so good. "NO peaking!" he yelled before she was about to turn around. She tried to identify scents. She smelled something buttery and sweet. Also, something fruity and nutty. "Why do you tease me?"

"A little payback," he laughed. He put the appetizer in the fridge and started with the entree in one pan. He then cooked the appetizer in another pan. He made a sauce for the entree turned down the heat of the oven and stuck the entree in to keep warm

"The first course is ready."

Bobby had already set the table. He brought out a warm mixed greens salad with a raspberry vinaigrette and a walnut and bread encrusted chevre patty.

"That looks divine."

He poured two whiskey sours. "Let's eat."

Sharon took a bite. The flavors were amazing. The crunchy factor from the walnuts cut through the creaminess of the cheese. The raspberry helped temper the bitterness of the greens. She was in heaven. "Aw, finally my day turned around."

"Hard day at work."

"A former member of my squad beat up a mugger who tried to rob his girlfriend."

"What's wrong with that?"

"The mugger died of his injuries."

"What's wrong with that?"

"What?"

"In Georgia, he would be getting a medal and a standing ovation from the neighbors."

"He's a police officer. He has to be investigated formally."

"Ouch!"

The salads were done. Sharon devoured hers.

He brought out the entree, pan-fried sole with a herb-butter sauce and a side of grilled asparagus

She took a bite. The fish was crunchy and the sauce was very flavorful. "How was your day?"

"I left early. I wanted to get everything right for tonight." He smiled. He couldn't wait to bring her onto the dance floor.

He chewed the food. He hoped it wasn't too peppery. "How do you like it?"

"It's perfect." She smiled. She couldn't believe she found a man who could make food like this, or that he found her, randomly. If he hadn't locked himself out that day...

Bobby just noticed the flowers. "Do I have competition?"

"Oh those are just from Kyle, Rusty's friend."

"Hmmm!" Bobby raised an eyebrow. He tried not to laugh.

"Don't be silly. He's practically a child."

"I wouldn't put it past him. It's the age where boys try to get with a MILF."

Sharon bust out laughing. "You did not just say that."

"Yes I did."

"Did you try this when you were a teenager?"

"I kissed my math teacher junior year several times"

"You did not."

"I did. She didn't seem to mind, but the principal did. I didn't want her to get in trouble, so I said I did it on a dare, and I got detention for a month."

"You're serious."

"She was hot. 17 year olds have no shame."

"Well, I doubt that's the case here. I think Kyle bats for the other team."

"All right, then, but if he starts showing up in a speedo offering to clean your pool..."

Sharon giggled. Bobby turned on the broiler. He brought new drinks.

They drank as they waited for dessert.

"Dessert time."

Bobby took out the dessert from the oven. He brought out pistachio crème brulees. "Careful, it's hot."

Sharon waited a couple of minutes and then took a bite. "Wow!" She couldn't believe that he somehow topped dinner and the salad. It was savory and sweet and creamy and so, so, excellent.

Bobby was glad she liked it. After dessert, they made out on the couch.

"Let's go. I've been dying to dance with you."

She grabbed a jacket, and he drove them to the dance hall.

"I don't really know how to swing," she told him.

"Follow my lead." He took her hands. "We'll start with the Lindy hop. We can do it in six counts like this." He guided her. Three bigger steps and then three smaller ones. They swirled around the floor with ease, lost in each others eyes.

The music slowed down. Bobby showed her the East Coast swing. "Back with your right, forward with your left, step right, shift left, step left, shift right and back. That's it. You're a natural." Bobby led her across the floor in dramatic sweeps. The motion was slow, slow, quick. Sharon leaned in to kiss Bobby. He returned her embrace and swirled her around in his arms.

His hands slipped down to her waist. He rubbed the back of her thigh.

"Bobby, we're in public."

"We can change that."

20 minutes later, they were in her house. His arms slipped around her stomach, her back against his chest. He kissed her neck.

"That feels nice."

She set down her purse and hung up her jacket. In her absence, he dismantled his suit, standing in just his boxers. He was ready to play.

He kissed her neck shoulders and began to unzip her dress.

"Let's go..." before she could say to her bed, Bobby had her dress hitting the floor. He began ravishing her body, kissing her chest and groping her ass and her legs.

"AHHH!" she moaned and groaned as he made his way across her erogenous zones. He kissed her elbows and stomach and began kissing her thighs.

"Rusty will be …."

Bobby evaded her panties and entered a finger.

"OOOHH!"

He slowly pushed in and out of her wetness and then he added another finger. She started buckling on the knees.

"AWWWW!"

His fingers went full force. He was kneeling in front of her and had perfect access to her body. She was panting and hissing and groaning as he drove her wild with his fingers and his tongue. She was just about to cum, when he slowed down, keeping her on the edge for over a minute. Her eyes started to water as the anticipation drove her into madness. He tugged at her knees and she dropped to them. He set her hands down in front of her and began to kiss the back of her neck

"I'm so close," she told him.

He bit her shoulder and pulled out his throbbing member. He began to tease her, slowly rubbing himself against the edge of her folds. She tried to thrust back, but he kept moving out the way. He slowly pushed his way into her, and she bucked her hips backwards thrusting herself onto him. He began to slowly push in and out of her. She pushed her hips back trying to quicken his movement. He kissed her softly. Her tongue aggressively thrashed with his. She wanted to fuck, hard.

He was excited about her wanton lust and abandonment. When he first kissed her, he knew she had a wild libido that was hidden under her polite professionalism. He couldn't wait to evoke her inner slut. Tonight was his night. He began to quicken his pace, pumping his way in and out of her.

"OH GOD FUCK ME FUCK ME FUCK ME!"

He didn't speed up at first. He wanted her to beg.

"Do you want more? Do you want me to pound you?"

"Yes. Give it to me. Give me all you got!"

"Say please."

"Please Bobby. I need it. I need it right now." Her face was red. Her cheeks bright red. He was satisfied. He grabbed her hips and began to fuck her silly. His muscular glutes drove his hips against hers viciously.

"AWWWAWAWEWAWWSDJENDEFMD" was the only sound she could make as she got an all-star fucking. "AH AH AH AHHHHHHHHHH" She was cumming all over the floor. He started kissing her ear and biting her. He never slowed down. Her hips wildly bucked against his as she had orgasm after orgasm. He grabbed her breasts and began to knead them roughly.

"Oh god!" After about a minute, the orgasms finally subsided. Her heart was racing. She felt like her insides were ready to explode. It took every bit of restraint Bobby had not to shoot his load already.

He pulled out and offered Sharon his sticky cock. She began to suck him readily, tasting her juices on him. She made quick work of him. He shot his load down her throat.

"AW FUCK!" Bobby leaned back. They were both sweaty, sticky messes.

_I can't believe we did this in the living room. If Rusty came home... _"Let's go to bed." Bobby grabbed his clothes and walked to her bed. Sharon grabbed her dress and her underwear and followed him.

The Spanish Restaurant

Kyle and Rusty were on their date. The lighting was nice. They ate tapas, several different small courses, chopitos, chorizos, olives and cheese. They had a spread of veggies, meat and fish, hot dishes cold ones.

"This is fun," Rusty told him.

"I'm glad you like it. The great thing about tapas is that it never gets boring. There's endless possibilities."

They dined happily

Across the restaurant, Brenda and Fritz were eating dinner. "These croquettas are awesome." Fritz was rather pleased.

"I like the pork dish. Wait, isn't that Rusty?"

Friz turned his head. "Yeah, he's eating with that other teen."

"Ooh! A date, how cute."

"Just because Rusty's at dinner with a guy doesn't make it a date. Gay guys have friends too."

"It's clearly a date Fritz. They're giving each other the eyes."

"What eyes."

"The I can't wait to get out of here for bow chick a wow wow. eyes"

"Is that a technical term?"

"How often to you see two teen males, dressed up at a nice restaurant with mood lighting? Is this what you did in high school?"

Fritz sighed. "So what if it is a date? We shouldn't pry."

"I think its sweet."

Just as Fritz flagged the waiter for more juice, Brenda saw Kyle steal a quick kiss from Rusty.

"Aww, how cute."

Fritz shook his head. "I can't take you anywhere."

"Oh Shush!" Brenda kissed him.

Eliza's Loft

They returned to her apartment. Eliza made quick work of David's clothes. They kissed and touched each other intently.

"Let's get to bed." She told him. He was eager to please. She sat on the bed. His hands began to shed her clothes. She helped him out. She saw his naked body well light. He was perfect. She always thought sex was best with him in the daytime. Only then, could she make out every detail on his well-carved frame. She also liked watching him sleep in the morning for the same reason, especially when he was naked. At her place, this was normal.

She looked him up and down. "I feel like a steak," he joked.

"You're definitely a prime cut." She kissed him passionately. He tried to pull them under the covers but she tossed them off the bed. "I want to see you, all of you." Their hands and bodies explored each other feverishly.

David's mouth reached her inner thighs. He began to devour her. "OOOOOOHHHH!"

She was straddled over him, giving him easy access to touch her with her fingers. He used his fingers and tongue in tandem to get her going. She returned the favor, sucking him into her mouth. Her fingers wrapped around the base. She held him still as she moved up and down. She was definitely the most orally skilled woman that David ever encountered. She knew how to drive him absolutely crazy. It wasn't long until they were both over the edge.

Eliza rolled off him. They lied on the bed, both facing the ceiling, bodies in opposite directions.

"Best date ever," she told him again.

"Not done yet."

Sharon's House

"Close your eyes," he told her. He kissed her lips and ducked into the kitchen. He returned with a surprise. He slipped something under a pillow. "You can open them now."

"Nothing's different."

"That's what you think."

He began to kiss her and touch her passionately. Her legs wrapped around his hips. He began to thrust into her again. "AWWW FUCK." She was still recovering from his last pounding, but he just felt amazing. She couldn't get enough. His lips found the nape of her neck, and he began to alternate between rough and gentle. He flipped her over and slid a pillow under her stomach. He began to devour her ass. "FUCK FUCK FUCK" He knew how to push her buttons. He pulled a crookneck squash out from under the pillow and began to fuck her with it.

"THAT is cold!" She grunted as this foreign object made its way into her body. He carefully held on to the base and she bucked against him. He found the lube in her draw and liberally applied it to his fingers. He slowly pressed them into her behind. The double assault left her grunting and growling. His fingers got replaced with his wet cock, and he began to fuck her. His hand stayed focus on her pussy, and she got double stuffed. He pulled her backwards, so she was riding his cock.

It wasn't long until she was cumming again. He kept double pounding her and she came again and again in rapid succession. Her breasts were bouncing up and down as she rode him. Her hair was all over her face and she was out of breath. "AW GOD AW FUCK FUCK FUCK!"

She came again and she fell forward. Bobby pulled out of her and flipped her over. He began gently kissing her neck and throat. When her breathing returned to normal, he slipped his way back inside of her ass and slowly had his way with her. She whimpered and moaned as he came inside of her.

She pulled him to her and kissed him, her mouth sweet and salty at the same time. He collapsed at her side. "You exhaust me," he told her.

They fell asleep

The Restaurant

Kyle and Rusty left dinner and grabbed ice cream cones. Rusty got ice cream all over his face. Kyle kissed him. "You're a sticky mess," he told him.

"You outta know." They walked down the promenade and chatted about everything. They drove to Sharon's house. Kyle kissed him goodnight. Rusty pulled him back into another kiss, and they stayed out there for a while.

"Goodnight, Cinderella!"

Rusty went inside. "Someone got laid!"

He went to bed.

Brenda and Fritz left the restaurant. He tried to drive home but Brenda kept rubbing his cock.

"You're going to make me crash." Brenda would stop and then resume again.

"I can't help it. I want your cock."

"You can't wait until we get home."

"No."

He pulled into an abandoned lot. She climbed into the back seat. He joined her. It didn't take her long to start sucking him. Her ass bounced in the air as she bobbed her head. His hands made their way up her thighs and to her hips. He made his was in her dress and into her folds. He began to push his fingers into her as she licked and caressed him. They both played each other like classical instruments until it was time for the main event. She straddled her hips and swiftly pushed him inside of her. She used her hands to brace herself on his shoulder. They moaned and grunted as they thrusted into each other. Their lips found each other and their eyes locked. They were confined to a small space, making the affair much more intimate. His head found his way to her chest. She growled as he sucked her nipples.

It wasn't long before they were both cumming, almost at the same time.

They kept their embrace for a couple of minutes. "Ready to go home."

"Yes. I want you in a bed. Drive fast."

Fritz laughed.


	43. Let's Get to It

Brenda and Fritz

Their lips were hopelessly deadlocked. They were trying so hard to kiss each other that they weren't getting very far. They both wanted control. They both needed to have their way. She started scratching his back. He pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. Ever since the weekend before, they have been inseparable. He realized how much she trusted him. She didn't ask him where they were going. She let him do as he wished to her and she gave herself to him in front an audience. All of her barriers were down. She was simply his. He pinned her to the bed and began to gnaw on her neck. He left marks right above her chest.

Her legs naturally opened for him. She saw the ferocity in his eyes and knew what he wanted. Her fingers softly ran through his hair. Her caresses started to tame him. He looked at her again and began to kiss her. This time, she acquiesced for him. His lips and tongue sent the tempo. One hand found her face and the other one her lower back. She ground her hips towards him. "AWWW!" she moaned at the feeling of his body against hers.

He loved hearing her moan for him. He wanted to keep kissing her all night but he had bigger plans. "Get on your hands and knees," he barked.

She obeyed him. His lips started with her ankles and he kissed his way up her legs, along the side of her hip, up her back, and the base of her neck. His soft touches caused her heart to flutter. His lips made their way down her body to her cunt, and he began to lick her.

"OOOOHHH!" His tongue was forceful and intent. He knew exactly where she liked to be licked and when to flick his tongue against her clit and when to finger her. Her hips started to push back against him. He lied on his back, so he was under her and pulled her to his mouth. She braced herself on the headboard and began to ride his face. The sensation drove her mad. She was full of lust, and he knew exactly how to get a reaction out of her.

He took a break. "Can you do a frog stand?"

What an odd request? She put her hands on the bed and rose her knees until they were at her elbows. He grabbed her from behind and continued to eat her. She almost fell over but he held her hips upward. The blood rushed to her arms and to her clit at the same time. She was getting woozy. It all became to much, and she started cumming. Her arms caved, and she fell on the bed. He stood behind her, throbbing cock ready to go. He sat down, his feet behind his knees, and he pulled her on top of him. Her body matched his, and he began to thrust. She was on top, but he was in control, and he fucked her, hard, harder, harder. "AWWWW FUCK! FUCK ME! FUCK ME!"

He delivered. His hand held her hair tightly as he drove his hips into her. She leaned forward thrusting her ass towards him. He pushed her on her stomach and pulled her ass into the air. Then he pounded her from behind, until she came on him again. He slammed into her, and her body was falling to pieces. She was out of breath, on fire everywhere, and the more she came, the more she wanted. She began wriggling her ass as he fucked her, trying to get closer. He grabbed her hips and took control. Fucking her intently until she came again. Soon afterwards, he shot into her.

They were wet and sticky. He carried her into the shower. He scrubbed every inch of her body and toweled her dry. He gently carried her to bed. He went to get some water. He came back and Brenda was rummaging in the back. "What are you looking for honey?

"These." She handed him the beads.

He got her bent over his lap and got to work.

3AM

Andy couldn't sleep. It was too hot. He opened the window a crack. The cold air hit Andrea's chest. She rolled over to him. "You're really warm." She fell into his chest.

She was a lot cooler. Her touch relaxed him. "You smell good," she muttered as she dozed back to sleep.

He looked at her angelic body, if only she were awake.

He closed his eyes.

Eliza's Loft

She was finally able to work again. She drew in her room in the back as David slept in her bed, naked. She drew him from memory and with a little help of her earlier sketches. She did a series of drawings: him as a warrior, him as a lover, a cook, and one of him sleeping. She wanted to sculpt him, but she needed him for that. She went to a different easel and started to paint.

Gabriel could sense Eliza wasn't at his side. He kept his eyes clothes. Whatever she did at night belonged to her. She would come back to bed. He hugged the sheet and rolled over.

Eliza watched him as he moved. He was so sweet.

Kyle's House

He lay awake in his bed. It was nice taking Rusty on a proper date. We'll have to do it again, but not too often. I like having him naked and in my bed better. Kyle's hand made their way under his sheet. He closed his eyes and began to stroke himself

Sharon's House

Rusty was fast asleep, which was good because otherwise, he would probably be overhearing a sexual hurricane.

Bobby had an erection. He rolled over to Sharon and nested up against her, his hands gently finding her stomach. Shocks went through her body as he embraced her. She could feel his hardness pressing against her. She grunted. Bobby kissed her neck. "Shar, you awake."

She rolled over. His eyes had a twinkle. She smiled. He kissed her softly. She opened her legs for him, her sex still very wet from their earlier encounter. He slipped into her and began to thrust.  
Her legs curled around his hips. He closed his eyes and fantasized about all of the nasty things he wanted to do to her. He wanted to fuck her, everywhere: her car, it would be better if it were a cop car. He thought about pounding her with the lights going and the sirens and having her lying on the hood, her ankles on his shoulders. He even thought about doing her on the front lawn, in view of their neighbors. He wanted her to give into her lust, to do something crazy just for the hell of it. His hips thrusted wildly as he thought about taking her every way he could think of.

"OOOHH OHH!"

He was so lost in his own head that he just realized this wasn't a dream that he was right there, deep inside of her. He slipped his arms around her body and pulled her close. His thrusts slowed down and his lips devoured her neck, his chest pressed against hers. She muttered and moaned as he claimed her. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He picked her up and placed her on the floor, so she was lying on her back and her legs were in the air. He slowly pushed his way in her, his hands on the floor, holding up his body. It was not an easy position, but he liked showing off his physical strength.

"OOH YES OOOH YES" Her knees curled towards her chest. He stood up and grabbed some lube and the squash. He began to finger her most sensitive hole and he slowly lubed himself and slipped his way back there. He began to fuck her ass. She screamed and muttered as he found a rhythm. He handed her the squash. She began to fuck herself with it as he pounded her. A string of muttered curses came out, and she came all over herself. She was like a fountain in need of repair, spewing everywhere, uncontrollably. She kept going. She wanted more. She needed it. He walked backwards until he had her on the ground, on her hands and knees. He fucked her wildly and he took the squash from her. It was easier for him to fuck her with it at this angle. She came for him, but he still wasn't satisfied. He kept going, thrusting his way into her until she came again. He ditched the squash and gave her hips his full attention. He held them tightly as he plunged into her. It wasn't long before he came inside of her. They lay on the floor, a tangled mess, and then he picked her up and brought her to bed.

They collapsed instantly, both of them sound asleep

8AM

Flynn's House

The morning came and the sun was shining. Andrea tried to coax Flynn out of bed, but he didn't want to get up. She playfully began to touch his chest and thighs. He looked at her lovingly. "Come back to bed." She climbed in with him and, they promptly went under the covers.

Brenda/Fritz

They were sound asleep in each other's arms. Fritz gave Brenda quite a pounding the night before. She wanted it in the ass and he delivered, twice. She came so hard when he touched her there. Hunter barked and barked until Fritz got up. He took her for a walk and fed her. "Bobby needs to take care you," he told her. He texted Bobby. "Your dog misses you."

He fed Joel and changed his litter box. After washing his hands, he heard a sound.

"Come back to bed."

"Someone has to take care of Hunter."

"Where's Bobby?"

"Out. I'm assuming he had a date. He never came home."

"Not that we would have noticed if he had. Come back to bed."

He resumed his place by his wife. Hunter and Joel followed them. The married couple went back to sleep. Joel claimed the chair, and wriggled on her back. "Where's Bobby?"

The Gym

Kyle had wrestling practice all morning. His technique was very good, but he was little out of it. His mind kept thinking of Rusty. He'd rather be in bed with him than on the mat with this random dude. He fought his way through practice and went for a run. His school wasn't that far from Sharon's house.

Sharon's House

Bobby and Sharon were out for the count. Rusty poked his head in. The place looked like a war zone. He left promptly and made himself breakfast.

He just got ready to eat when he heard the doorbell ring. He went to the door. It was Kyle.

"Where's your car?"

"I ran her."

"What?"

"I wanted to see you."

"So you ran instead of driving."

"I needed to workout. I multitask."

Rusty gave him a kiss. "You smell like hell."

"I had wrestling all morning. Care to join me for a shower."

"I was just going to eat."

"Well, eat and then get into the shower with me." Kyle helped himself to a glass of milk.

Rusty ate bacon and eggs, and they went into the bathroom.

The water was cold at first. Rusty evaded it but Kyle stood right under the spout. "That feels nice."

Rusty grabbed some soap and began to rub Kyle from neck to toe. When's the last time you bathed?"

"Yesterday, you jerk."

"Maybe you should shower twice a day come wrestling season."

Kyle grabbed Rusty and tossed him under the water. They grabbed and grappled with each other as they made out under the water, covered in soap suds.

"Tell me you're home alone."

"Practically. Sharon and Loverboy are passed out. I checked on them. They're not getting up anytime soon."

"Let's go then."

They got out the shower. They both put on bath towels and Kyle carried his boyfriend to his bedroom.

They toweled themselves dry and climbed into bed. Rusty pinned Kyle to the mattress and started kissing his neck and biting his chest. It didn't take long before Kyle was ready for more.

Rusty started to suck him. Kyle grunted. He didn't want to be too loud. The last thing he needed was Rusty's aunt busting in the room.

Kyle closed his eyes and tried to stay quiet.

Rusty had a lot of fun with Kyle. It was nice to finally be in a real relationship, with someone his own age.

It didn't take long for Kyle to erupt in Rusty's mouth. Rusty rolled him over and pushed his head towards the pillow. He grabbed the lube from his drawer and took his place behind his mate.

"OMMGMGMFMF" Kyle moaned into the pillow Rusty had his way with him.

Rusty grabbed Kyle's hips and held on to them.

"FUCK!" Rusty groaned as he collapsed on top of Kyle. They lied side by side for a minute.

Rusty eventually got up and put on some clothes. He waked out of his bedroom to see Bobby, wearing nothing but boxers, making a Bloody Mary.

"Hey Sprout! Breakfast?"

"I already ate. Thanks.

"Really, what time is it?"

"1PM."

"Damn. Sharon. Time to get out of bed."

Sharon came out wearing her housecoat. "Where are your pants?"

"I dunno. Somewhere. Want lunch."

"I'm starved."

"Stay up too late?" Rusty snickered.

"Oh you hush!"

Kyle heard the commotion and wanted to get dressed. His clothes were rank so he stole some from Rusty. The t-shirt was tight on him. He looked for some shorts. They were a little looser. Damn, Rusty is skinny.

He put on his shoes and went outside.

"Kyle. When did you get there?"

"About 12:30. I had wrestling this morning."

Rusty saw Kyle and thought it was comical.

"Nice clothes."

"It's not my fault you're a 00."

"Am Not. Maybe you should go on a diet."

"I didn't see your car upfront."

"I ran here. My car's at the high school. I'll have to go get it."

"One of us can drive you," Bobby couldn't imagine Kyle running in such small clothes.

"Thanks."

"But first food."

They found a sushi place that was open for lunch.

"Raw Fish?" Bobby did not look amused.

"You ate tartare at that steakhouse we went to last month."

"That's what that was?"

Rusty laughed. This guy was funny. "They have cooked food too."

The waitress came. She thought it was cute that a couple had time to take their sons out to lunch.

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

Sharon got coffee. Bobby saw no booze options. He went with coffee. Kyle got a Ramune. Rusty got the same, even though he didn't know what it was.

The waitress came back with their drinks quickly. Rusty was confused by the bottle. Kyle laughed. "Do this." He pushed the cap into the marble, which rolled down the bottle. He sipped it. "I love lychee."

"What's lychee?" Bobby never saw this stuff in Atlanta, not that it wasn't there. He just never thought to look.

"Its a fruit from Southeast Asia," Sharon told him. "It's very good."

The waitress returned to take their order. "Why don't you two get the love boat?" Rusty teased.

Sharon blushed. Bobby checked it out. Love ain't cheap. "Do you want to?" he asked her.

"Ooooohhh" The boys teased.

"Why not."

Kyle ordered some unagi, and Rusty got the spicy tuna roll.

"How long have you been wrestling?" Bobby asked him.

"Since 7th grade."

"He's the captain. He also is the state champ."

"Going to wrestle in college?"

"I don't know. It just got cut from the Olympics, and a lot of funding is going to disappear. Colleges are cutting their programs."

"That's too bad."

"I know. It's one of the original Olympic sports." Sharon mentioned.

"I might go into martial arts."

Their lunches appeared. Kyle and Sharon ate with chopsticks easily, Rusty, quasi-easily. Bobby had some trouble.

"Let me help." She took his hand in hers and guided his fingers.

"She's good with her hands, isn't she."

"Rusty!"

"You have no idea."

"Bobby!"

Rusty was blushing now. Bobby was starting to get the hang of it.

Sharon fed him a bite of fish with her chopsticks.

The food was delicious. They ordered more drinks. Bobby tried the lychee. It was tasty.

Bobby kissed her.

"Gross!"

Bobby and Sharon split the check. Then it was time to go.

They drove Kyle to his car. His mother called him. She wanted him to mow the lawn.

"Thanks for lunch." He was off.

They went back to Sharon's house. Bobby checked his phone. "I should get going." He kissed her again and drove home.

Brenda and Fritz were kissing on the couch. Hunter was their third wheel. They rubbed her head. Joel was napping away. The doorknob turned.

Hunter sprinted towards it. She jumped up and licked Bobby's face. "Down, girl."

"Someone finally came home."

"Should we start forwarding your mail?" Brenda liked teasing him.

"Oh hush!"

Hunter lied right on Bobby's feet. He started to rub her tummy.

Chicago

Henry and Molly made sure this was the perfect weekend for Marcus. They were expecting the DNA results on Monday and had no idea what it would mean. They took him to the aquarium, the park, his favorite pizza place and to get ice cream.

Marcus was glad that his grandmother was feeling better. They hadn't been out like this in months. He was a bundle of energy. They mostly watched him play with the kids and climb trees. His favorite was playing football. His grandfather taught him how to throw the perfect spiral and his grandmother cheered at all of his games.

Eliza's Loft

David gave great back massages. She moaned and muttered as his strong hands forced the knots out of her back. She was calm. Everything was nice and easy.

There was a loud knock on their door. "LAPD open up."

"Shit."

She was naked. Gabriel grabbed her a dress. She put on underwear and tossed on the dress.

David looked out the peephole. "Elliot. Crap."

He opened it.

"We would like to ask Ms. Hendricks some questions."

Eliza came to the door.

"We can do this here or the station."

"Here's fine."

Sgt. Elliot looked around. She had a swag place. "Can you tell me where you were last Thursday?"

"I took David to my yoga class."

"Is that a normal routine for you?"

"I usually go every Thursday. This is the first time David came to. We were on our way home, and this man came out of no where."

"You didn't see him approaching."

"No. It's like he came from behind a building or something. He pulled a knife and said wanted my money."

"Want did he say?"

"Give me your money."

"Then what happened."

"David got in between us and they started fighting."

"Can you be more specific?"

"I got out of the way. I was scared. They fought over the knife. Gabriel punched him."

"How many times?"

"I didn't count."

"Did you call the police?"

"It happened so fast. The next thing I knew, the guy ran off."

"You didn't call the police afterwards."

"No. We left."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"You're not holding anything back."

"She already said no." David was annoyed. He didn't want Eliza involved with this mess.

"Well, it's rather odd that she avoided the police and resisted answering question. It makes me wonder if anything else happened that night."

"Like what?"

Gabriel and Elliot stared each other down. The lieutenant was thirsty. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"There's homemade ice tea in the fridge. You can help yourself."

The lieutenant poured himself a glass. "This is very good. Thanks."

"I didn't want to get David in trouble. I just left."

"Why would he be in trouble?"

"I don't know. Maybe the reason you're here right now." Eliza was no dummy. She didn't get goaded into saying anything she didn't mean.

"I just wanted to go."

"Have you ever seen that man before?"

"No."

"And you never saw him again."

"No."

"Can you think of any reason why he would approach you?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's kind of odd that there were probably many women leaving, who came alone, and he tried to mug the one woman with a tall, strong looking man by her side."

"I was walking ahead of David. Maybe he didn't realize he was there."

"Did he look off too you?"

"His pupils were …."

"Large."

"No. Tiny, almost invisible."

"He wouldn't have been able to see as well." The lieutenant added.

"He also might have been very high." David commented.

"I think we're done here." The two officers left. One their way out, the lieutenant saw her drawing of a bird. "It's very nice."

"You can take it. It's just a draft."

"Really, thanks." He walked off with it. Elliot gave him a stank look and they were off.

The Morgue

Morales was just finishing his report. "Your mugger had a long history of coke use."

"Was it in his system?"

"Not when he died, but it was in his hair. I had a sample sent to the mass spec. He's been heavily using for months."

"Would that cause constricted pupils?"

"Yes and no. They would be dilated while he was high but constricted at other times."

"So he might have been sober during the fight."

"And he might have been hungover."

"Anything else doctor."

"I took a second look at his injuries. The ribs got to me. Look at his x-rays. Here are his ribs and here is his face."

"They're both busted up."

"But the pattern is different. The face, you can see a lot of force hitting with a small surface area, like a fist, and it started healing. But the ribs. They show some remodeling and then new breaks"

"What does that mean?"

"It means he got hit, started to heal and then got hit a few days later with a big object."

"Which fight killed him?"

"The second fight likely wouldn't have killed him without the first fight. It doesn't appear that the first fight alone would have been enough."

Elliot went to Taylor's office. Taylor was playing with his airplane. He called Captain Raydor.

"I hope this is good," she thought as she came in on a Saturday.

"Captain."

"Sgt."

The greetings significantly cooled. She and Elliot used to be fine, but when she left FID for Major Crimes, things changed.

"There was a new development in the case."

"Go on Sergeant."

"It appears our victim got into a second fight three days later, where his ribs got busted."

"So David didn't cause his fatal injuries."

"Morales can't be certain. He thinks both fights needed to have happened to cause this injury."

"But he wouldn't have died without getting into the second fight."

"Probably not."

"So what does this have to do with me?"

"We're still investigating David's use of force, but the second fight is out of FID territory. There's no evidence that David hit him again."

"So you want us to look for his actual killer."

"Yes."

She looked at Taylor. "The killer could be long gone," he commented.

"Probably not. We never announced his death. It's plausible that his killer doesn't know he's dead."

"Do you have a plan?"

"I think I do."

She didn't see the point in calling in her squad before Monday. She released the "victim's" photo and said that he had a rare, non-fatal, disease, and they requested anyone that came within contact with him in the last week to come to a listed specialist to be checked out.

She went home. Someone would call soon enough.

Flynn's House

He and Andrea were dancing. The music ran through them as their hips ground into each other. "I want you," he muttered into her ear.

Her cell phone rang. "Crap!" She answered it. "Hobbes!"

"Is that anyway to greet your father?"

"Hi, Dad I thought it was work."

"You're house phone doesn't work anymore."

"Did you get my e-mail? I moved Daddy."

"Moved. You know I am terrible with my e-mail. You finally got sick of that little house."

"I moved in with my boyfriend."

"You have a real boyfriend."

"Yes Dad. He's wonderful."

"I'll be the judge of that. You bringing him to Christmas."

"We haven't discussed it yet."

"Well, let me know sweetheart."

"Bye Dad."

"We haven't discussed what?"

"Do you want to come meet my family for Christmas? I understand if you're busy with your kids, or if this is too soon."

He grabbed her and kissed her. "I would love to meet them. My kids and I will work something out."


	44. The Robbery

Saturday night

Jackie and Tommy went down to that seedy bar, all dolled up. They still had some cash from the FBI gig. They bought some drinks and told Sammy's friends what happened to him.

"He's in a mental hospital?"

"His trustee came for him, so hopefully he'll get into a good rehab."

"I'm sure he'd like it if you wrote to him," Jackie added. "He needs all of the help he can get."

They stayed for a couple of drinks and were ready to go. A man invited them to the back. They didn't want to seem suspicious, so they followed him. Tommy was invited for a game of poker. Luckily, he mastered the game in college. He started off losing the first couple of rounds, but he made a decent come back. He controlled his wins and losses, not making too much for a newbie. He didn't want any trouble. Jackie procured them brownies. They each took one. She sat by his side and nuzzled his neck. She was his mole.

They offered Tommy a cigar. He was careful to puff it slowly.

"Want me to get you a Scotch?

He nodded. She came back with a glass for him an a Manhattan for herself.

Fritz and Brenda

Brenda gave Gabriel a call. "Hi David, How are you two doing?"

"Hi Chief. We're doing fine. FID came and went, and I'm not fired, yet."

"Oh Hush! You did nothing wrong."

"I didn't get the Captain in trouble did I?"

"No. FID is just a little pissy. I think they're a little butt-hurt about Sharon ditching them for Major Crimes."

Fritz looked up at his wife. Bobby was making chicken and dumplings for dinner. Hunter was eager to help. Joel was curled on Fritzi's lap.

"Do you think I'll be able to come back soon?"

"The report is due on Monday, so hopefully we'll hear then?"

Eliza was in the background, "David, Dinner's ready."

"In a second. I gotta go Chief."

Brenda went to help her brother cook. "What can I do?"

"Can you make me a margarita?"

Brenda knew how to do that. She grabbed her cocktail shaker and got to work. Salt the glass, pour the drink, serve.

"How come you sear the chicken if you're just going to cook it in stock?"

"When you brown meat, or toast bread, or roast coffee, the heat causes the food to go through a Maillard reaction, which is a reaction between the protein and the sugar in the food. This creates new flavors, and is why toast tastes different than bread."

"Whoa! Since when do you know chemistry?"

"I know food. It's chemistry at it's finest."

Bobby took out herbs and started to chop them.

"They smell good."

"I find that rosemary and sage go really nicely with this dish. You want to help make the salad."

"Sure. What do I do?"

"Cut the avocados in slices."

Brenda got the cutting board and started to work. Bobby cut up some mango. He washed the mixed greens and sliced some shallots into thin slivers. He took out the food processor and added butter to the herbs pulsing a few took out the blender and mixed in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and some lime. He blended it all together. They put all of the good ingredients in the bowl.

"What about the dressing?"

"At the end, so it doesn't get soggy."

Bobby took the dumpling dough. "Want to help me make these awesome?"

"Yeah."

"Heat up that skillet."

Brenda got the pan nice and hot, and Bobby added the herb butter. He put in the balls of dough. Brenda turned them with the spatula, so they got nice and golden brown. Bobby took the dumplings and dropped them in the broth. He swirled the pot, causing the dumplings to sink. "When they rise," he started. "They're done."

A couple of minutes later, they were done. Brenda poured 3 bowls. Bobby tossed the salad. Dinner was served.

"You two spoil me," Fritz was ready to dig in. The salad was fruity and creamy. The chicken and dumplings smelled delicious, tasted buttery and well spiced. "This is awesome."

"Bobby always had a way with the kitchen. He would have made a great housewife."

"Oh stop!"

"Do you make dinner for Sharon?" Brenda inquired

"Of Course! Last night was a goat cheese salad, sole and asparagus, and a crème brulee."

"No wonder he's always there. I'd keep him, too." Fritz added.

"She also has an excellent wine collection," Brenda commented.

"She's special."

"She and Brenda used to hate each other."

"Don't you start Fritzi."

"Why?" Bobby was surprised to hear that.

"We didn't hate each other."

Fritz gave her a skeptical look.

"We didn't like each other, but hate is such a strong word. She irked me. She always had to go first."

"Brenda plays second fiddle to no one."

"Everything was a battle: crime scenes, witnesses."

"But you're friends now."

"She reached out to me during the lawsuits. I didn't appreciate it at first. I thought she was just being a hall monitor, but she was very helpful and outside of work, she can be fun."

"I haven't noticed," Bobby joked.

"Have any stories?" Brenda asked. "That are PG," she added.

"We went to get sushi with Rusty and Kyle today. They wanted us to get the love boat."

"Is that his boyfriend?"

"I guess. I didn't know he batted that way."

"You couldn't tell Rusty was gay."

"That was obvious. I meant Kyle."

"Why? Cause he's a jock."

"No. That wouldn't explain Jimmy. I just got the impression he was a ladies man."

"I think they're cute," Brenda added.

Fritz kissed his wife. "I think you're cute."

"Yuck!"

"We should go out sometime," Brenda started. "The four of us."

"Really. You wouldn't be weirded out?" Fritz was surprised his wife said this.

"I think it could be fun." She answered.

"I'll see what she thinks," Bobby replied.

They kissed again.

"I'm not going if you act like that at the restaurant."

"Oh hush! Like you never kiss Sharon in public."

Bobby shook his head.

Sharon's House

Sharon and Rusty sat down for dinner. Sharon made a carbonara with fettuccine. "Are thing serious...?"

"With what Sharon?"

"With you and Kyle."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, he's here a lot, and you two seem close and he was wearing your clothes."

"Is there a question?"

"Are you involved?"

"You're not giving me the talk are you."

"I just want you to be safe, and if you need protection or to get tested."

"New topic."

"Rusty."

"Okay. I guess he's my boyfriend. Can I now change the topic?"

"Sure." She knew that was about as much as she would get out of him.

"I got an A on my math test."

"That's great."

They started talking about school, the gossip, the scandals and even some talk about academia.

Flynn and Andrea went out on the town. They were kissing intently at the restaurant. They were sitting in a little booth in a hidden corner. Andrea was sitting on his lap, running her fingers through her hair. His hands found her ass. The waiter came by with their dessert. Andrea turned her head and slipped back into her seat.

They got a chocolate, marscapone cake. It was delicious. Andrea ordered another Scotch. "I'm feeling really good right now."

"I wonder why." Andy stole another kiss from her.

They demolished the cake and each other and after settling the bill, they went to see West Side Story. It was very well done. After the show, they went home.

He carried her through the door frame and brought her straight to bed.

They went back to making out, hands slipping off each other's clothes, kissing, bitting, scratching, pinching, and tugging on each other until they were ready to get it on.

She started stroking him. He teased her with his fingers. They both moaned and grunted. They had been building up all night and were ready to go off. He slipped a finger into her wetness and she gasped. He went to two fingers and then three. "AWWWWW"

She leaned over him and began to suck. He continued to work her with her fingers. She licked his shaft and began kissing his head. He groaned, his face starting to sweat. Her hips started driving back towards his fingers. "Do you want me inside you?"

"Fuck me!"

"I like it when you're bossy."

She smiled, straddled his hips and guided him into her. Her hips began to rock back and forth. His hands found her waist, and he began to thrust.

"OH FUCK! FUCK! FU-FU-FU-FUCK!" Her hands were on his chest. She liked to grope him as he pounded her.

"You feel really good!" Flynn loved being inside of her.

She began bucking wildly. She needed to cum. Her hand slipped to her clit and began to rub furiously. He loved watching her touch herself. It was really hot. It wasn't long before she started gushing all over him. He rolled her onto her back and began to pound her.

"OH GOD! FUCK! YES" Her legs wrapped around his hips, her feet pushing him into her. Her arms wrapped around his chest, and she started biting his chest and scratching him.

"AAWHWHW!" he groaned as she made her mark on his body.

He rolled her onto her hands and knees continued to fuck her. His hand slipped to her clit and he began to rub her roughly. "You like that don't you."

"Yes! OH FUCK YES!"

He got her to cum again, and he quickly followed her. They collapsed on the bed.

Sunday

Bobby and Hunter went for a run in the park. Fritz and Brenda slept in, and Joel took a nap in the sink.

Andrea and Flynn did chores around the house, laundry, mopping, vacuuming, etc.

Sharon made breakfast. Rusty wrote a history paper.

David and Eliza went to brunch.

Lazy Sunday for all.

Monday

Major Crimes

They got a woman who came to the "specialist" who was really Morales. They asked her how she knew the guy. She said he showed up at her house high begging for money. She told him to get out, and he hit her. They fought, and she hit him with her cast iron skillet to get him to leave.

That would be cause of death, Morales concluded. He told his findings to Raydor. It all sound plausible, so the DA said let it go.

Flynn was glad that this was all over. They all were.

Prosecutor's Office

David was able to come back to work. Brenda, and he went to investigate a robbery at a restaurant. They got there and discovered no one stole any money. Someone stole the cupcakes that were supposed to go to a function Pope was hosting. Major Crimes refused to investigate. Brenda shook her head. As it turned out, the owner hadn't paid the pastry chefs in three weeks, so they stole the cupcakes and gave them to a homeless shelter. Brenda didn't write them up for larceny. She convinced the chefs to make more cupcakes if the boss gave them cashier's checks right now. The boss did not like that proposition and wanted them arrested. Brenda said it was a civil matter and decided to leave. When the boss realized he had no choice, he finally cut their checks. Brenda told them to report him to the city if he fails to pay in the future.

Also, she got the chefs to sneak her some desserts. David drove her back to the office; Brenda nomming a delicious pastry.

Chicago

Harry and Molly went to their lawyer. "So we found a familial match. A female relative is in the organ donor registry. We sent a request, but we need her permission to get her identity."

"How long do we wait?" Molly asked.

"I don't know. I sent the request on Thursday."

"Can you call her?" Molly wanted to know.

"I only have seen a serial number. There are several privacy protections that we have to get through."

"So red tape crap." Henry wasn't surprised.

When they entered Marcus's DNA, they found a familial match in Michigan. The office that discovered the match doesn't know who he matched. They have to send a request to a local office, who tries to get the owner's consent to release the information. Without consent or a valid court order, No Go!"

The match appeared Thursday. The local office got the match today. Now, the phone call.

"Hello," a woman answered.

"Hi, we have a request for your information from a relative in Chicago."

"I don't have any family in Chicago."

"According to your DNA, you do. He's a 12 year old boy, looking for his father. Maybe you can help."

"I can try. What's the relationship?"

Rusty's School

He turned in his history paper and made his way to class.

A girl stopped him in the hallway. "You're Rusty right"

"Yeah."

"I hear you're trouble."

"Why are you talking to me then?" This girl was odd. He thought her name was Casey or KC or something.

"I like trouble. You busy on Friday."

"No."

She handed him an invitation and went on to class.

Bobby got a call from Jacob.

"Hey dude. What's up?"

"They're an offer in the mail. It's a good deal. She gets the Atlanta house and you don't have to pay her a penny, and you keep the Maine house."

"What do I have to do?"

"Sign it and send it back to me. I have to get it sent to the courthouse and filed."

"Awesome. You're the best."

"Any time, Cuz."

Atlanta, GA

Joyce got a rock. It was pricey. Michael had to finance it, not that she knew that. She couldn't wait to show it to her sister.

Washington, DC

Charlie got an offer. She could study in UCLA for a semester. She had three days to make up her mind. She wanted to accept then and there. She called her father.

"Hey Daddy."

"Charlie. What's up."

"I got accepted into a visiting semester program at UCLA."

"You're coming to LA?"

"For the spring semester."

"That's excellent. I'd love to have you here."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Are you going to stay through Christmas?"

"I hadn't thought about it. I just might."

Charlie got off the phone with her father and got to work. She told her boyfriend the news. He smiled, weakly and gave her a hug that made them both uncomfortable.

Prosecutor's office

Jackie and Tommy were still recovering from Saturday. There was a lot of drinking, and the brownie didn't help matters. They both looked beat.

Mendoza and Sue came into Brenda's office.

"Hello. How can I help you ladies?"

"We want to invite you out, to ladies night."

"I like going out, where?"

"Lucky Bar! They have half off drinks for ladies on Thursdays and a group of us are going."

"That sounds like fun! Can I bring friends?"

"Of course."

"Well, I'll see you then. Bye ladies."

They both smiled and left. They passed Gabriel on their way to the hall. "You owe me $20 Sue."

Sue paid up. "I can't believe she agreed to go to a lesbian bar with us."

Mikki laughed.

"She doesn't know. Does she?"

"Not a clue."

Gabriel winked at the Chief as she came out of her office.

"Don't you start."

He went right to his desk, whistling while worked.


	45. Never Have I Ever

Tuesday

Chicago

Molly and Henry got a call this morning. Their lawyer learned the name of their grandson's father. They asked for a background check. After the call, Molly started to cry.

"What's wrong, honey? We wanted to find him."

"But that means we're closer to the day that..."

"Don't worry about that. Let's just make good use of all of the days we have. No reason to count days when we cannot know for sure."

"But he could go..."

"Shh! Let's just find something relaxing to do. Want to walk in the garden?"

They went outside. Molly spent a good 40 years tending to this garden. She came out sometimes, but the arthritis was too much for her to handle her anymore. She had to hire help to maintain it. The garden was amazing. Hedges framed a beautiful maze of flowers, trees, bushes. She thought about the garden from all angles, how you saw it walking through, how you saw it from above. It was a bittersweet feeling. She was heartbroken when she realized she needed to hire help. She was devastated about the idea of losing Marcus.

Wednesday

Atlanta, GA

Jacob received Bobby's signed settlement agreement. He filed a motion for a consent decree with the court and included a copy of the agreement.

Michael was in trouble. His band wasn't doing as well as he expected. He was wondering if they needed a new lead singer

Thursday

Brenda conscripted Andrea and Sharon into going out with her on Thursday. Sharon put up a fuss, but Brenda suggested she was too old to go out. That did it!

Brenda didn't know what to were to the bar. She settled on a pink tank top and blue jeans. She wore her cute white gogo boots and a belt.

Fritz came up behind her. "All you need is a cowboy hat."

"Oh hush."

"You look hot. Where are you going again?"

"Lucky Bar."

"Where is it?"

"I dunno. Sharon said she had GPS."

Fritz kissed her lips. "I'll miss you."

"I'll be back, Baby." She pinched his butt.

"I'll be ready for you."

The doorbell rang. Bobby got it. "Hey, Baby!" He kissed her. "What's the occasion?" She looked hot, but casual hot. She wore a skirt and a nice shirt.

"Ladies' night," Brenda told him. "You're not invited."

He gave her a look.

Sharon chuckled. "We have to go get Andrea on the way. Apparently, I'm the designated driver."

"Bye boys."

They were off.

Sharon got ready to turn. "Go straight," Brenda told her.

"Andrea's house is to the right."

"She doesn't live in her house anymore."

"Wait! Where does she live?"

"Go to Flynn's house. I thought you knew that."

"She lives with Andy Flynn!"

"Wow! You don't even know your own office gossip."

Sharon gave her a stank look.

They pulled up at the house.

Brenda went to the door.

Andrea kissed Flynn and headed out.

The three girls were in the car, on their way to the bar.

Sue waited by the window. "If she doesn't show up, you need to pay."

"She's coming," Mikki insisted.

"For her husband," Amy retorted.

Mikki was surprised to see Sharon Raydor walk into the bar. Brenda and Andrea followed them. "Hey, Y'all!" Brenda greeted the trio.

"You must be Amy," Brenda stated. "Nice to meet you."

"What? You think I'm her girlfriend because I'm standing next to her."

"Oh Shut up!" laughed Sue. "Yes. She's Amy."

The girls around the bar noticed the six women, especially the three newcomers, especially Brenda. She was quite the sight, bright pink shirt, nice amount of cleavage, tight jeans, which were cut just right to show off her narrow waist and wide hips. She got a lot of stares.

The bartender gave her a free drink. "I like this place," Brenda declared.

The other girls laughed. "I wonder how long it takes for her to notice this is a gay bar." They all laughed even more.

Brenda enjoyed her drink, a tequila sunrise and the girls were chatting. She noticed a pretty blonde sitting alone on the other side of the bar, blue eyes, curly hair, was in her late twenties. Furthermore, she noticed Mikki stealing glances at her when she thought no one was looking.

"You should go talk to her," Brenda told Mikki.

"She's not my type," Mikki lied.

"Since when are pretty blondes not your type."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"I think she's cute."

"You ask her out then."

Brenda gave her a look. "Maybe, I will." Brenda got a mint julep.

The women told stories about their families, silly things their significant others have done. Somehow, they got to "Never Have I Ever."

"How do you play?" Brenda didn't know this game.

"We all put up fingers," Amy explained. "Like this," she showed 10 fingers. "You say something you've never done hoping that at least someone else here has done it. If you have done it, you have to put down a finger. Who ever loses all their fingers first, loses?"

"Or wins depending on your perspective," Sue added.

"Also, sip your drink if you put down a finger."

"I'll start," volunteered Mikki. "Never have I ever been to Europe." They all groaned. They all had to put a fingers down.

Sue was next. "Never have I ever cheated on a test." Mikki put a finger down, so did Andrea. "Really?" Brenda inquired.

"I paid my way through Algebra II. I hate math," Mikki answered.

"I took the SATs for another girl in high school," Andrea admitted. "She paid me $200 and she got into William and Mary. She got kicked out for cheating on tests. What can you do?"

"Never have I ever," Amy started, "gone streaking." Brenda was the only one who put a finger down.

"You, Chief."

"It was college okay. We were being liberated." Everyone laughed at that.

"Never have I ever had a threesome," Andrea said. Brenda put her finger down. So did Amy.

"You're not so innocent," Mikki noted.

"I never said I was," Brenda replied.

"Never have I ever had a fake ID" Brenda stated. All of the girls groaned and put down a finger.

"Never, Brenda." Sharon was suspicious.

"I never needed ones. Guys were always willing to by me drinks."

"I wonder why," Mikki ribbed.

Brenda gently pushed her stomach.

Sharon was up. "Never have I ever run from the police." Brenda, Mikki, and Andrea put down fingers.

"Story," Amy requested. "I want to hear stories."

They all looked at Brenda. "What! Well, ok. My friends and I were playing frisbee-golf on the roof at Georgetown, and we broke a window. We were pretty drunk and kept playing. We saw the cop car flashing, and we ran in different directions. "I went running past this building and a guy opened a fire door for me. I ducked inside and hid until the cops left."

The group laughed. "I would have loved to have seen college you," Mikki commented.

"I see no difference between her and present Brenda," Sharon retorted.

"Oh you hush. Just because you're too jaded for fun."

"I am NOT jaded."

"Prove it."

"Bartender. I'd like two whiskey sours." It was on.

Brenda smiled. This was going to be a fun night.

Mikki's turn. "Never have I ever had sex in the car when there were other people in it."

"You mean other people than the guy or girl." Andrea was confused.

"Yeah." Only Sharon put down her finger.

"Story," Brenda chanted.

Sharon sighed. "I was in high school. We were on a double date. My date and I were in the back and we were all playing padiddle. My date decided to raise the stakes to strip padiddle, but then he lost every round, so I was fully clothed, and he was naked. He started coaxing me to get naked, so he wouldn't be alone and then, well."

"So one couple is in the front driving and you're in the back …."

"Yes. It was high school okay."

Brenda laughed.

Sue's up. "Never have I ever woken up and not remember the person's name." Mikki put her finger down as did Amy.

"I had to check her wallet," Mikki stated.

"I just left," Amy admitted.

"Never have I ever," said Amy, "committed adultery." Brenda put her hand down. Sharon sighed and put a finger down; she was indefinitely separated, so every guy was an affair. Sue did as well.

Andrea, "Never have I ever given out a fake number." Brenda, Mikki and Sue all put fingers down.

"I used the rejection hotline once," Sue admitted.

Sharon, "Never have I ever had sex at work." Brenda was the only one to put down a finger.

Brenda, "Never have I ever been walked in on having sex." Sharon, Andrea, Amy and Mikki all put down fingers.

"Never had I ever," Mikki struggled, "slept with siblings."

"At the same time or ever," Brenda asked.

"Ever." Brenda put down her finger.

Everyone looked at her. "What! They were identical twins."

"Never had I ever," Sue continued, "had a pregnancy scare." Sharon, Andrea and Brenda all put down fingers.

Brenda only has one more.

Amy was next. "Never have I ever, lied about my sexual preference." No one put a finger down. "Damn." Amy put down a finger.

Sharon was up, "Never have I ever, had sex with a woman." Of course, Sue, Amy and Mikki put their fingers down.

Andrea was up. "Never have I ever, joined the mile high club." Brenda was finally out.

"Way to go Chief! It sounds like you're a winner."

Brenda shook her head and ordered another drink. The blond was still there. Brenda went over to her. "Hi, I'm Brenda."

"I'm Katie."

"Why is a pretty girl all alone in the corner?"

"I don't do well with these things. I just moved here, been trying to meet people, but I might not be bar person."

"Why don't you come over with us?" Brenda brought her to the group. "Hey, everyone this is Katie. Katie, Mikki, Sue, Amy, Sharon, Andrea."

"So what do you do," Amy asked her.

"I design sets for the Opera house down the street."

Katie and Mikki kept stealing glances at each other. Brenda gave Mikki a look of encouragement.

This other woman saw Katie and wanted to come over. She had a hungry look in her eye. Brenda gave her a stank look, and she backed down.

The night went on. The girls danced, drank, ate junk. Mikki and Katie chatted away. Sharon sobered up and drove Brenda and Andrea home. Sue and Amy came with Mikki, but Katie had a car, so they left her there. Katie offered to drive Mikki home, but when they got to the house, they started kissing passionately.


	46. Shapeshifter

Fritz waited for his woman to come home. He saw headlights from the window.

A few minutes later, a blonde appeared. "Hey. Sexy," Fritz greeted her with a kiss.

"Hey, Honey." She pushed the door closed with her foot and turned to lock it. Fritz grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him. He started to kiss her, but she got tense.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He released his grip.

She turned to him. "Can we talk in the bedroom?"

They went in the room and closed the door.

"It's just that when we went out, we were playing Never Have I Ever, and I was the one who got knocked out."

"You's upset because you lost a drinking game?"

Brenda looked into his eyes. "Do you think I'm a slut?"

"No. Why would you even think that?"

"I had to put down my fingers a lot, and they didn't even ask such risque questions. If they knew about..." Fritz kissed her before she could finish her sentence.

"I think you are a lovely, strong-willed, sensual woman, and I don't think anyone has any business judging you or us. Your friends obviously like you. They invited you out. What is their business what we do? Why would they care?"

"I don't know. I just felt a little dirty. It's one thing to have fun. It's another to think that you're weird, and that's not what normal people do."

Fritz took her hands in his. "There's a lot to human sexuality. You did stuff they haven't done, but they likely have done stuff that you haven't either. Given the group you went out with, I'm sure of it."

"You think so."

"I know so, and if you're afraid that you're a slut. Don't worry. That means I'm one too."

Brenda laughed at that. She gave him a kiss.

"Let's get ready for bed," he whispered. They undressed and climbed into their bed.

Flynn's house

Andrea came home to a sleeping Flynn. She kissed his forehead and climbed into bed. He muttered as she found her normal spot.

Sharon's House

Rusty was asleep. Sharon needed to go to bed. She opened the fridge and took out some grapes, a little snack first.

Mikki's Apartment

She invited Katie into her home. When they got there, Mikki put on some music.

"I love Velvet Underground," Katie told her.

"Good. I almost thought you were too young for it."

"No one is."

Mikki offered her a drink.

"Water's fine, thanks."

Mikki brought over a water and a beer.

They continued to chat, mostly about music, art and the like. When they finished their drinks, their eyes caught each other at just the right time. They could both see a flicker of light. Katie got up and went to Mikki. They resumed their make out session on her couch.

Mikki loved the delicate curls of Katie's hair. Katie loved feeling Mikki's hands on her face. Their tongues explored each other's mouths. Their hands wandered, and it wasn't long until Mikki's hand was up Katie's skirt. "Ooohh!" she moaned as Mikki got around her underwear and started to probe her. She was wet. Her outer lips a little swollen. Mikki started to gently tease her with her fingers. Katie's face began to flush. She hadn't been with anyone since she moved to LA. She stood up, tossing her panties aside and slid to her knees. She wanted to go first. She unzipped Mikki's jeans and pulled them off. Her underwear was next. Katie went for what she wanted. She began licking Mikki intently.

"AWW!" Mikki cried out. She was not used to being on the receiving end. Katie was young, but she had a lot of experience. She knew exactly where to lick, flick, suck, and prod. It wasn't long before Mikki's hands were in Katie's hair, exploring her soft curls, wanting to just grab her head and ride her face.

Katie kept her on the edge of an orgasm. "Don't cum yet," she told her as she slowed down. She brought Mikki up and down, up and down until finally, Mikki lost it. She grabbed Katie's head and pushed her forward. Katie took the cue and sucked her clit hard until she came all over the place.

Katie kept licking until Mikki released her grip. She then licked her lips and had a big smile on her face.

Mikki was in a daze. She hadn't felt like that, ever.

"Where's your bedroom?"

Mikki pointed to the right. Katie got up. "Are you coming?"

"I already did."

Katie took her hand and led her to the bedroom. They got rid of the rest of their clothes. Katie began to explore Mikki's body, kissing her breasts, groping her ass, biting her thighs.

Katie had a perfect body, nice perky breasts, a slim waist, nice round hips and an ass to die for. Mikki wanted to ravish her, but Katie wasn't done with her yet. Katie pushed Mikki onto the bed and began to rim her.

"OHHHH" Mikki yelled out. She closed her eyes and enjoyed Katie's work. Katie began rubbing her clit again. Mikki had enough and rolled over.

"Now, It's my turn." She pulled Katie towards her and began to kiss Katie's body, starting with her neck, going down to her breasts, stomach, thighs, and calves. She went back to Katie's wetness and pushed in a finger. Her lips found Katie's nipples and began to suck them. Katie grunted.

One finger became two, and Mikki sped up. Katie started rocking her hips gently. Once she got worked up, Mikki stopped. Katie gave her a longing look.

"I'll be right back," Mikki promised, going into her closet. She returned with an object behind her back. Mikki set the object down and began to devour Katie, sticking her tongue right against her clit. Katie cried out, "YES!" Mikki got her close and then stopped again. She loved getting payback. Katie's cheeks were bright red. She looked so fuckable, Mikki thought as she smiled. Mikki grabbed the object. It was a strap-on. She put it on, and Katie's eyes became wide. It was an 8-in toy and it was thick.

"Get ready to fuck," Mikki told her, a smirk on her face. Katie took a deep breath. Mikki kissed her neck and down her body and back up to her mouth. Katie's arms made their way around Mikki's body. Mikki slipped the dildo in between her thighs and slid it into Katie's body. It was a tight fit, but Katie relaxed for it.

"Oh FUCK!" she yelled. Mikki looked into her eyes. They were filled with lust. Mikki worked her way slowly, eliciting a string of short gasps. Her hands found Mikki's shoulders, and she gripped them as she thrusted her hips.

"AWWW YES! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK." Katie was rising her hips to meet Mikki, trying to get more. Mikki went at a long slow place, driving Katie mad.

"FUCK ME!" she cried.

"You want me to give it to you."

"YES!"

"You want me to bend you over and fuck the daylights out of you."

"YES! PLEASE!"

"Soon." Mikki grinned. She leaned forward, thrusting a little faster as she got Katie to the edge. She stopped, flipped Katie onto her hands and knees and slipped back into her.

"OOOH! Yes."

Mikki started with slow, deep thrusts but they became harder and faster as she started to pound Katie.

"AWWWW FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Katie was dripping sweat. She was so close. She needed to cum. Her fingers slipped to her clit, and she began to rub furiously and cry for more. Mikki nibbled on her ear and grabbed a fistful of blonde curls. She pulled on her hair as she fucked her hard. Katie came several times in rapid succession. Mikki kept fucking her throughout them all.

Katie slumped forward. Mikki wrapped her arms around Katie's waist and kissed her neck. Mikki lied on her bed and pulled Katie on top of her. "I'm not done with you yet." She pulled Katie down on the dildo and began to thrust upwards. Katie cried out as she rode Mikki.

They fucked all night long, Mikki pounding orgasms out of Katie until she couldn't take anymore. Mikki kissed her gently. Katie wrapped her arms around Mikki. Katie slept in Mikki's bed. Mikki got a little rest but had to report to work.

She took a shower and came back to see a sleeping Katie in her bed. Mikki left a note on her dresser, grabbed something to eat and went to work.

Friday Morning

Fritz and Brenda cuddled the night before. Fritz wanted to fuck her, but he wanted to wait until Brenda's mojo was back. Luckily, that didn't take too long. Brenda woke him up by sucking his dick. He looked to see her big mouth around him. He loved it when she greeted him this way.

Her ass wriggled as she sucked him. She was down on all fours. It drove Fritz crazy, seeing her ass like that, not grabbing her and fucking her doggy style.

Brenda knew this and loved to tease him. She started to stroke him. "Do you want to fuck me?" she asked sweetly.

"You know what I want."

She moved closer to him. "If you want me, come and take me."

Fritz took the invitation. He pushed his cock into her wet pussy and began to fuck her. "OOOH!" she moaned as he got to work. This had to be a quick one. They both had to work. Fritz eyed the clock and skipped the charades. He went right for it. He used his fingers to rub her clit as he fucked her. He wanted them both to cum. Brenda bucked her hips against his. They moved well together and soon, Brenda got her release. Fritz pulled out of her and offered her his dick. She took him readily, sucking her juices off him. It wasn't long before he came. He grabbed her head and held her towards him as he shot his load down her throat.

Eliza's Loft

David got dressed. He kissed her on his way out the door. He was going to be late. He and Eliza stayed up late last night watching the stars on the roof. Stargazing turned to fucking and he had her on her hands and knees, as he pounded her. She moaned and muttered and begged for more as he thrusted into her. She tightened around his cock and came viciously, causing him to lose control. The memory of her and her scent got Gabriel hard again. He did something he never did. He turned around, went right back into the loft and picked up Eliza. He pinned her to the wall and began to kiss her passionately. He was going to fuck her instead of going to work.

Eliza felt the passion in his hands and the lust in his gaze. He was going to have her. End of story. She unzipped his pants and tried to suck him.

"I just wanna fuck you." He pushed his fingers into her. She got wet very quickly. She spread her legs, and he picked her up, thrusting himself into her and began to pound her. She grunted and groaned as his hips dominated her. She muttered and cursed as he picked up the pace. He went fast and rough. He wanted to cum deep inside of her. He kissed her gently, his lips contrasting with the force of his cock. He wanted this to be good for her too. He took her to the edge of the bed and pounded her. She arched her back as he got himself to the right angle by half-kneeling. He pounded her until she came for him. He shot his load deep into her. He sighed and kissed her again. He caught the time when he saw the microwave. "Shit!" He scrambled to put on his clothes again. He kissed her, softly. "I'll see you at home." He took off.

"I guess this is his home too," Eliza said to herself as he left.

Prosecutor's Office

Jackie and Tommy were flirting shamelessly. Brenda was late, no surprise. Gabriel was late, big surprise. Jackie liked to touch Tommy's chest. They had eyes for each other for a long time, but they were partners and didn't want to screw up their work lives/friendship. They seemed to forget about this until Chief Johnson came in.

"You finally decided to join us," Tommy teased.

"You have a nice glow, Chief!" Jackie added.

"Oh Hush!" Brenda gave them a little smile. "Where's David?"

"Late!"

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Pope called you."

Brenda sighed. She went into her office and dialed his number.

"Pope."

"Chief Johnson. You pulled quite a stunt on Monday."

"What are you talking about?"

"You threatened to have the health inspectors shut the owner down if he didn't pay his pastry chef's more money."

"I did no such thing. More money? He hadn't paid them at all."

"That makes it okay."

"I didn't threaten him with anything. His chefs were upset and didn't want to work for no paycheck. I suggested if he paid them, now, perhaps they would agree to make more cupcakes. What are you fussing about anyway? They got there, didn't they."

"Well, he wants more money on the contract."

"That's crazy. He created the whole mess himself. If he actually paid people..."

"How do you know he didn't pay them?"

"Because they gave away the cupcakes. If they were just bad employees, they wouldn't have made them. They made them and when they didn't get paid, they said, screw it and gave them away."

"Now, he's claiming he paid them but they wanted more"

"That's easy to prove. All he has to do is provide copies of the checks."

"He doesn't usually ….."

"Let me guess. He pays them in cash so he can evade his taxes."

"We don't know that."

"How long have you been working, Will?"

"A long time. You know that."

"Ever have an employer that pays cash."

Silence

"I didn't think so. I don't see why you're so worked up over a dumb jerk anyway. The cupcakes got there. The workers got paid. He got what his contract gave him. If he can't run his restaurant, maybe he should find a new vocation."

Will sighed. "Fine."

"Your welcome, Will." Brenda hung up. "Last time I take a case for that jerk."

Gabriel finally got to work. He looked a little disheveled.

"Princess Beauty is here." Tommy ribbed.

"He's got lipstick on his collar." Jackie added.

Gabriel turned to look. "I do not."

"But you had to check." Jackie continued.

"Gentlemen, lady, it's time to work, that is what we do here."

"Chief Johnson, sorry I'm …."

"Don't worry about it. Just get to work."

She filled them in on their new case. A 16 year old girl ran away from Portland to marry some 24 year old man. Her name was Jamie Meeks, and they needed to find her.

"Why isn't she a critical missing?" Gabriel asked.

"Because, she's a con artist. She forged a new identity on the internet, and this guy thinks she's a 22 year old cocktail waitress from Nevada."

"What?"

When the Portland police saw her computer, they realized she made a fake drivers license, birth certificate and a facebook page that had a lot of pictures that would suggest she was from Nevada. She apparently is a computer nerd who's really good with photoshop. She took other people's pictures and edited herself in them. She would tag her fake identity ands she even made fake friends on facebook to bolster her story.

"So this guy's not a predator." Tommy was confused. He would freak out if a girl he was getting on with was secretly a teenager.

"Probably not. We're trying to wrap this up quickly and discreetly."

"Where do we start?" Jackie asked

"With the courthouses. If they're getting married, then they will need a marriage license. We need to send a Bolo to all of the ones that issue marriage licenses. We're also looking at little halls, adds from internet priests, anyway in which a couple would get married on short notice with virtually no planning."

"So places that do elopements." Gabriel added.

"Yes. Get to it everyone."

They monitored her facebook page. She left her cell phone behind, so they couldn't trace that. They got nothing from the courthouses, and no one came forward saying they tried to get married.

David had an idea. "Hey, Chief!"

"What is it Sgt?"

"Maybe we've been looking at this all wrong. We're thinking what would Jamie do. She's a computer expert who is probably hiding her tracks very carefully."

"This helps how?"

"The man is not. If we look where he might be, we might find him."

Brenda checked the file. "His name is Gary Rogers."

They started looking for strip clubs, bars that would host a bachelors party, hotels, night clubs and places that sent strippers to you. Finally, they caught a break. One Gary Rodgers put down a deposit on a booth at Club Fear with his credit card. The club faxed the form he filled out. He listed his address. They sent the police to pick up Jamie. They brought Gary to the prosecutor's office, where Brenda had to explain to him the truth.

"No. She can't be 16. I've seen her graduation photos. I've seen her birth certificate."

"She made it all up." Brenda showed him the software the police used to show the pictures were fake. "The lighting doesn't match, although she got pretty close. She took pictures of herself and photoshopped them into other people's graduation photos. This whole page is a lie."

Gary's eyes sunk into his head, his heart pierced his body and hit the floor. Brenda handed him some tissues as he let it all out. His whole world just came down. "I don't know how I'm going to tell my family, my friends."

"I wouldn't mention the 16 years old part. Maybe you could just say that she was a con artist and she got arrested for identity theft. It's pretty close to the truth."

Gary sighed and left.


	47. Freaky Friday

Police Station

Mikki had quite a glow on her face. She hadn't gotten that into sex in, who knows if she was ever that into sex. Katie was just a sex pistol. She wanted more and more, and Mikki was happy to give it to her.

Sue came to visit. "How was last night?"

Mikki was beaming. "It was nice."

"Nice, my ass. You got her in bed didn't you."

Mikki just smiled. Her expression said it all.

"I have to admit. She's pretty damn gorgeous."

"I know, right."

"You have plans with her tonight."

"I'm not going to rush into anything."

"You might not have a choice. Girls like that don't come around every day."

Chicago

The background check came in. The father seemed to be a pretty good guy. They spoke to his relative, who said nothing but good things. After school, they were going to talk to Marcus about the whole thing.

He came in on the bus.

"Marcus, Come here please."

He came quickly. "Yes, Grandpa."

"We need to talk." Molly was napping. He decided this would be easier as a man to man conversation.

"I'm sure you've noticed, but your grandma and I are getting old. She's been sick. My health is failing."

"I can do more around the house."

"It's not that, Marcus. It's just, you're a growing boy. You need to be raised by people who can be there t take care of you. We won't be able to do that forever."

"I'll be better. I promise."

"You've already been the best grandson a man could ask for. This isn't about you. I mean it is, but this isn't your fault. We found your father."

"What? The man who ditched me."

"We don't know that. We don't even know if he knows you exist. We never had his name. You remember that swab I had you take."

"Yeah."

"We sent it to a lab to test your DNA against known people in the database. We found a familial match. She sent us her information, and we found your father." He showed Marcus the file.

"You're not sending me away, are you?"

"We don't know. We think we should meet him and see what kind of man he is, but if he's a good man, it will be better if you go stay with him."

Marcus's heart sank. He had never known other parents, and he didn't want to start now.

"You're growing up to be a man. You need someone to show you the way. I know this is hard. It's crushing me right now, but if anything happened to you because your grandmother and I couldn't protect you, I would never forgive myself."

Marcus gave his grandfather a big hug. He didn't want to go anywhere.

Major Crimes

A woman has been getting threatening phone calls, and today, someone sent her a mysterious powder. The letter got seized by the post office and sent to the FBI lab for analysis.

Sharon interviewed her. "I bet it's my ex-boyfriend," the woman started. "We broke up 4 months ago, which was fine but about 2 months ago, I got a new boyfriend, two weeks later, the calls started."

"What would they say?"

"Stupid things like "you're making a mistake.' 'You don't know what you've done to me.' 'You'll pay for this.'"

"Did you call the police?"

"I did but they couldn't prove it. He didn't call from his cell phone and I couldn't recognize the voice. It sounded like someone was using a computer."

"Did you ever confront him?"

"My boyfriend did. He denied it all."

"I'll need both of their names."

Flynn and Provenza picked up the ex-boyfriend, Dennis Wheeler. He said nothing and came with them.

"Do you know why you're here?" Sharon asked him.

He shook his head.

"Someone tried to hurt Macy."

"I wouldn't do that. I love her."

"But she doesn't love you. She has a new boyfriend."

"I know. I asked her to get back with me, and she said no. I haven't spoken to her since."

"You didn't call her house."

"No way. Her stupid boyfriend came by my work to harass me. My boss had to kick him out."

"Where do you work?"

"I'm a mechanic at Ace's Auto Shop. Is Macy okay?"

"She's fine, but someone tried to poison her."

"I wouldn't do that." Sharon actually believed him. He looked heartbroken but not sick or crazy.

"Do you know who would?"

"Her neighbor is weird. He gives me the creeps. When I used to leave her place in the morning, he would always be in his front yard watching, leaning on his lawnmower."

"You thought it was odd that he mowed the lawn."

"I don't think he was mowing anything. I think he was just watching her door. He was creepy."

"Does he have a name?"

Martin Fink. He lives on the door to the right.

Sanchez and Sykes found the boyfriend. When Flynn escorted Dennis out of the interview room, Martin tried to punch him.

"I'll kill you, you jerk."

"Macy's too good for you. She always will be."

Martin got angrier but Sanchez held him down.

"Martin," Captain Raydor began. "Please, Sit down."

"Have you arrested him? He did it."

"How do you know?"

"First, he stopped by to pick up forgotten items from her house. Then, he offered to fix her car for her. He was always sniffing around and when Macy shot him down, he snapped."

"When was this?"

"About 6 weeks ago." Same time the calls started, although that doesn't prove anything.

"When did you start seeing Macy?"

"About two months ago. We knew each other before."

"From where?"

"She works with my sister. We met at an office party."

"Where does your sister work?"

"They're both scientists for Pfizer. Why does this matter?"

"In order to build a case, we need to know the environment."

"Well, it was Dennis alright, and you better get him, or I will." Martin left.

_Ring Ring_

"Hello"

"Hey Captain, it's Fritz. The preliminary results from the letter are in. According to our lab, it was white phosphorous."

"How would a mechanic get white phosphorous?"

"He wouldn't. It's something that you would find in a military weapon."

"Or in a lab."

"If you had a chemist that could produce it, yes."

"Thanks Agent Howard."

Tao called Pfizer. As it turns out, Macy just got a big promotion. She was in charge of their search for a medicine that would cure opiate addiction. Ina, Martin's sister, had a similar proposal, but they liked Macy's plan better.

Pfizer lured Ina from her station, offering her a free lunch. HAZMAT checked the lab, and found exactly what you needed to make white phosphorous. They got a search warrant for her house to get her personal computer. They found the voice program she used to make the phone calls and the program she used to make the call untraceable

They brought in Ina.

Sharon started easy, buttering her up, saying they needed her expertise. They said Dennis was the suspect, but they couldn't figure out how a mechanic was smart enough to make a poison. Ina explained it all readily, every step, pretending Dennis had done it all. She didn't even realize she described perfectly how to make white phosphorous.

"That's so funny," Sharon said.

"What's so funny?"

"I asked you how to make poison and you described white phosphorous, the same poison sent to Macy."

"You said that was the poison."

"No, I didn't."

"She must have mentioned it then."

"We haven't told her yet what it was."

Sanchez saw his cue and came in. "We found these programs on the computer in your house. They recreated the voice she used to harass Macy."

"It must have been hard," Sharon started. "You got her that job at Pfizer. You introduce her to your brother. She steals the job you worked so hard for, and she takes home your brother. She wasn't very grateful was she."

"She stole my idea. I told her about my plans to make a cure for opiate addiction and she took it right from under me."

"That's so odd," Sharon continued. "As you can see here, she wrote her dissertation on the complications of using drugs to cure addictions. It seems she's been working on this a long time."

"She had a vague notion, but she stole the chemistry from me. She deserved what was coming to her."

"What about the post office employees? Did they deserve your wrath too? What about the people who worked in your lab? Any of them could have gotten hurt!"

"I think I've said enough."

Sharon called Macy. She told them they arrested Ina. She did it all.

She was upset. She thought she and Ina were friends. She was going to ask Ina to be the assistant leader of this project. She thought they could have done it together.

Macy was on her way home when she bumped into Dennis.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I can't believe I thought you could have done this."

He looked into her eyes. They were sad. They shared a moment. "Do you want me to walk you to your car?"

"That piece of junk doesn't work."

"It just needs a little attention."

"And a lot of money."

"Maybe there's something in the shop that will help."

"Really, you'd help me after all of this."

"I'll never give up on you," he told her.

"What a chump!" Provenza declared as they left the building.

Flynn laughed as did Sanchez.

"I think it's sweet," said Sykes.

"What, that he's still head over heels for a woman who's with another man and thought he was trying to kill her?"

"I saw the look in her eyes. I think she knows that she let go of a great guy, and she might be ready to make up."

"You and you're optimism." Provenza rolled his eyes and went back to his paper.

"Was that the fastest we ever solved a case?" asked Tao.

"The FBI is all over poisonous letters in this day and age."


	48. Double Date

Rusty didn't know what to wear to the party. He stared in the mirror, nothing looking right.

Kyle called him. "I'm about to head out. I'll be there in 20."

Rusty sighed and kept staring.

Bobby noticed the door ajar and knocked. "You alright in there."

"I can't figure out what to wear." Bobby was not a fashionista.

"Sharon, Rusty needs you." Good luck.

Sharon came over. "Having trouble figuring out what to wear."

"It's that obvious."

Sharon went through his closet. She picked out his leather jacket, a pair of dickies and a green shirt.

Rusty looked the outfit over. "Not bad. Thanks."

"Don't stay out too late," Sharon cautioned.

"I know."

Kyle arrived and Rusty was just getting his shoes on.

"Ready to go?" Kyle appeared at his door, looking perfect, the plaid shirt brought out his eyes, the slacks were clearly tailored.

Rusty nodded. Kyle kissed him and proceeded outward.

"Have fun boys," Sharon called as they left.

They got into the car. "I'm surprised she let you go to an open house party."

"She thinks we're going to the movies."

"Gotcha!" They drove off, heading into unchartered territory.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sharon asked Bobby.

"Not at all, but what can I say?"

Sharon sighed. This was going to be quite the dinner.

They got to the restaurant.

Bobby gave their name to the host, and he said they would be seated when the rest of the party arrived. Moments later, a blonde came strolling into the restaurant. Her dark-haired lover behind her.

"Sharon, you look nice." Brenda greeted them.

"As opposed to how I normally look?"

"Your clothes are always nice, but your work outfits are a little stuffy. This outfit is fun."

"I do have fun, Brenda."

"Allegedly."

Fritz chuckled. These two were too much.

The host seated them and handed them the drinks menu.

"Ooh! They have mead," Sharon noticed. "Would anyone be interested in sharing a bottle?"

"Me!" the Johnsons said in unison.

They started with mead, Fritz a cranberry juice.

They looked at the menu.

"I want schnitzel," Brenda decided.

"You always get schnitzel," Bobby ribbed.

"Why would I not?"

"There's plenty of good German dishes," Sharon added.

"Wie dumm," Brenda answered. "Ich liebe Schnitzel"

Fritz shook his head. This was going to be a comical evening.

Bobby went for a second glass of mead. Brenda was quick to follow. Sharon was still on her first.

The waiter came to take their orders.

"I would like the trout," Sharon started. "And may I get asparagus on the side."

"Of course."

"Schnitzel for me please," Brenda ordered. "And a side of pomme frites and can I get an aioli sauce with them."

"Of course."

"Always the aioli sauce." Bobby rolled his eyes

"Shut your trap."

Fritz ordered the short ribs, and Bobby got curry-wurst.

"Can I get a beer?"

"What would you like, Sir?"

"Can I get the Paulaner please?"

"And can I get a Black Forest?"

"What's a Black Forrest?" Sharon never heard of this drink.

"Vodka, apple juice, orange liqueur, blackberry liqueur and raspberry as a garnish." Brenda knew her drinks, family trait.

"Anything for you, madam."

"No thanks," Sharon responded. She had no interest in getting too drunk. She started to drink her water.

Bobby told the group that Charlie got into UCLA for the spring.

"How wonderful," Brenda commented. "I can't wait."

"She's apparently a biology expert."

"How's Rusty doing in school?"

"He's doing fine. He's doing well in math. He's making friends."

"That's nice. It's great that he has a home now." Brenda was glad to see that Rusty was adjusting. It must have been so hard for him, knowing his mother would just steal LAPD's money and run away from him.

The waiter came with bread. Brenda and Bobby wanted the same roll.

"Give it up Brenda."

"No way." They got into a staring contest. Fritz cut the roll in half. Brenda promptly took both pieces.

"Hey!"

"You snooze, you lose."

Bobby pouted.

"Can't you try being nice?" Fritz gave her a look.

"Well, alright." Brenda gave him one half. Bobby tried to snatch the other one, but Brenda was too quick.

"You two are terrible," Sharon told them.

They buttered their bread and began to eat.

Fritz and Sharon got bread when it was safe.

"Bread and beer, Food of the Gods!" Bobby proclaimed.

"Are these the Gods that bless your kegs?" Brenda snickered.

"The very same!" He continued to drink.

The waiter walked by. Sharon asked for more sourdough bread so the siblings wouldn't bicker, not that they didn't bicker about other things.

"I hear you used to call Sharon the Wicked Witch!"

"I did not."

"You didn't, Chief."

"No. I always preferred Darth Raydor."

Fritz laughed. "Every time, it gets me."

Sharon shook her head. "Darth Raydor, really."

"You have to admit, pretty catchy, and it makes Bobby the queen." Brenda was having fun with this. "Also, Sharon would be voiced by James Earl Jones."

Sharon sighed. "She poured more wine."

"Be careful, you don't want to drink too much. You might get drunk." Brenda cautioned.

"I can handle my drinks just fine."

"Sure you can," Brenda snickered.

Sharon gave her a look. It's on Bitch!

The waiter came back with more bread, and their dinners.

Brenda took a big bite out of her schnitzel. "Delicious!"

Bobby stole some of the sauce from his sister's plate.

"You wish you had gotten the sauce. It's the best."

"This short ribs are excellent," Fritz commented.

Brenda fed him some schnitzel with her fork.

"Tasty." He gave her a smooch.

"Yuck!" said Bobby. "They're always kissing."

"You do live in their apartment," Sharon commented.

"Don't remind me."

"Oh Hush!" Brenda kissed Fritz again.

"You just did that to gross me out."

"So! You've been grossing me out my whole life."

"Have not!" Although Bobby knew it was true.

"Do you have any Christmas plans, Sharon?"

"I usually go away with my family, but no one wanted to go skiing this year. They're coming here. My daughter is bringing her beau." Sharon blushed. She hadn't talked to Bobby about Christmas yet. She wanted him to join her family.

"She can meet Charlie. Maybe they can be friends." Brenda beamed.

"That would be nice," Bobby agreed. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"Visiting Dad in Florida."

Fritz sighed.

"Oh you hush!"

"Clay wants us all to stay in the house."

"Jr. has 3 kids. How is that going to work?"

"It's not," Fritz answered. "Can we please stay in a hotel?"

"I would rather do that, but Dad will be upset. Why don't you want to stay with the family. Why are you hiding in that hotel. Why can't you spend more time with dear old Dad?" Brenda did her father's voice perfectly.

Everyone laughed.

"It will only be a few days. I will make it worth your while." Their eyes locked, and they kissed.

"Yuck!" Bobby commented.

Sharon ordered a Manhattan. Bobby got another beer.

The waiter brought dessert menus. Brenda got the chocolate cake and an Irish coffee. Sharon and Bobby shared the ice cream. Fritz got the cheese plate and coffee.

They started chatting about music. Brenda and Bobby arguing over who was better, The Doors or Velvet Underground. It wasn't a surprise that Brenda liked Jim Morrison and Bobby preferred Nico.

Sharon enjoyed the buzz from the whiskey. She hummed to herself.

Open House

Kyle drove past the house. "You past it," Rusty told him.

"I know." Kyle parked around the corner. He didn't want to be in front of the house in case anything went down. He also wanted to kiss Rusty.

Rusty returned the kiss. Kyle's hands slipped to Rusty's ass and groped him. "I could take you right here."

"Let's go inside first. Maybe we should do it inside."

They headed to the party.

Candice opened the door, surprised to see Rusty with such an attractive man. "Rusty, who's your friend?"

"This is Kyle."

"Hi Kyle." She looked him up and down. He looked like sex on legs.

They went inside. The living room looked normal.

"Everyone's in the basement," she told them.

The boys went downstairs to be confronted by the smell of cheap beer and sweaty teens.

A group of kids were playing spin the bottle. Another group was doing a keg stand.

Kyle went for the freezer. "The best booze is always there," he said. Kyle discovered a bottle of gin and started to pour a drink.

"You don't want one," Rusty said.

"I have to drive." Kyle gave Rusty the gin and tonic.

Rusty sipped it. "Not bad."

Kyle poured himself some water, and they headed in the back where people were playing pool.

Kyle surveyed the scene. There were four people playing. One was pretty good, two were decent and one was crap.

"Wanna play winner," one guy asked.

"Sure."

Rusty whispered to Kyle. "I don't know how to play."

"I got this." Kyle slipped an arm around Rusty.

The game ended pretty fast. Kyle set up the next round.

The other team broke the rack. Kyle hit in a shot quickly. He went for a second one.

"Beginner's luck," they said.

One boy went and almost got a scratch.

Next, it was Rusty's turn. Kyle guided his hands and showed him how to hit the ball. "Just stay steady," he said into Rusty's ear.

Rusty hit the ball. It didn't go in, but it blocked a pocket.

"Crap!" he said.

"Not a problem. They can't use that pocket now."

Rusty had no idea why that mattered.

The other guy hit a ball in but then he scratched.

Kyle's turn again. Another shot. He hit again.

They went back and forth. Rusty started to get the hang of it.

Kyle pointed at a pocket and hit the 8 ball. "Game over."

"You're pretty good."

Rusty got another drink. When he came back, he noticed another room in the basement. Kyle followed his gaze, and they went to check it out. They went inside and saw some girls giggling.

"What are you doing?"

"Ever do a whippit?"

"A what?"

The girl held a whip cream maker and inhaled the gas. She held it in her mouth and started giggling.

"It's laughing gas," Kyle whispered into his ear.

The boys sat down. Rusty tried one. "It was a weird feeling."

Kyle went next. They went through a box.

"Did you boys bring anything to the party?"

Rusty shook his head. Kyle fixed a joint from his pocket. "Let's take this outside."

They went to the backyard and lit it up. The girls all thought Kyle was wicked hot.

"You got a girlfriend."

"Alas, I am taken." He pinched Rusty's butt.

The girls headed inside. Rusty and Kyle sat on the swings. It was dark. They swang for a while, talking about everything under the sun. Rusty reached out to Kyle and found his erection. He smiled and got down on his knees. He sucked Kyle outside, hardly the first time he had outdoor sex.

Kyle just shot into Rusty's mouth when they heard a sound. Kyle zipped up his pants and Rusty went back onto his swing. A group of teens came outside, holding a bong.

"Who's out there?" They asked.

"It's just Rusty, and Kyle."

The girls saw Kyle and giggled. You want to join.

The group sat down and started to smoke. One kid took out some pills.

"Anyone want to try some 2-CB?"

"What is that?" Rusty had no idea what it was.

"It's a phenethylamine."

"That meant nothing to Rusty."

"It's like MDMA or mescaline. Tryptamines are like LSD, mushrooms, etc."

"So what does it do?"

"It makes you see shit." One guy said gruffly.

"How much?" Kyle asked.

"$10."

"How much is in each pill."

"They're all 25mg."

Rusty whispered in his ear. "You want to take that?"

"Not today."

"Can I buy 4?"

"That might kill you."

"Not for today. I prefer the daytime."

"Fine with me."

Kyle and the boy traded. Kyle hid the pills in a pen case. Kyle packed the next bowl, and they continued smoking.

They went back inside. The girls reappeared and asked the boys if they wanted to do more whippits. Kyle lead Rusty down to the basement, and they found their secret room. They went through another box. The nitrous was much more fun once they were high. Kyle inhaled and breathed the nitrous into Rusty's mouth. They embraced, without a care that they had company.

The girls giggled. The boys made a cute couple.

Kyle heard a loud noise from inside the basement. Rusty wanted to check it out. Kyle said, "let's go."

Rusty looked at him, and they past the brawling crowd to Kyle's car. They got in and drove to another neighborhood. Kyle stopped the car.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not ready to drive. I just wanted to get out of there."

"You don't like fights."

"I don't care who fights. I don't like things that attract cops, especially not when I'm carrying."

Rusty couldn't argue with that. They climbed into the backseat and started to fool around.

The house was a mess. Beer was everywhere. Teens had been fucking in a closet. The neighbors called in a noise complaint. The cops slowly made their way there. Some kids bounced. Other kids kept brawling. Everyone tried to hide when the cops got there. Everyone except for one couple that was fucking in the bathtub upstairs. They didn't hear a thing. Kids ran left and right. The cops rounded them all up and started checking for signs of intoxication. There was the smell booze, weed and broken furniture all over the place.

Kyle got Rusty's pants off. He decided to top Rusty and put on a condom.

Rusty straddled Kyle's lap and began to ride. They went slow and easy both of them enjoying the slowing effect the weed had on them.


	49. Teen Drinking

After dessert, Bobby and Sharon to cuddle. Sharon gave him a kiss. "EW!" Brenda teased, eager to return the favor.

Sharon kissed him again. They all started joking and telling stories. Sharon and Bobby were too drunk to drive home. Fritz drove Sharon's car to a nearby lot and paid to park it. He walked back and drove them home. Bobby and Sharon were giggling and kissing in the back. Brenda shook her head. "No horseplay back there," Brenda winked.

They got dropped off at home. Rusty was still out. Sharon called his phone.

"Rusty, where are you?"

He was in some neighborhood, having sex. "On my way home."

"What took so long?"

"We went out for burgers after the movie and hit traffic coming back."

"Come straight home."

"Yes, Sharon."

Rusty put his clothes back on and Kyle drove him back. "I'm hungry," Kyle told him.

"Maybe we'll actually get burgers along the way."

Saturday

Eliza and David went out to the museum. Her exhibit was coming along nicely. The room was closed off to the public until the instillation was complete. She showed David around, telling her about each piece and why she made it. David was amazed. Seeing her work all over the large room was a different experience. He loved the intimacy of her loft but the museum was for the world. It was larger than life.

Eliza's agent came in. She was babbling about what needed to go where and when Eliza would be ready to start schmoozing with donors and something about an auction. Gabriel completely tuned her out.

The Grocery Store

Flynn and Andrea filled their basket with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs, cheese, butter milk, coffee, pasta and bread. They were getting ready to check out when they bumped into the Taos.

The men started to chat and the women did as well. Mike was surprised to find that Andrea and Flynn were grocery shopping together.

Mrs. Tao, "So how long have you been living with Flynn."

"A couple of weeks now."

"He's a good man, just don't say I told you that."

Andrea smiled. "Of course."

They went their separate ways. Andrea and Flynn made it home and put away the groceries. Flynn wanted to go to veggie planet for lunch. Andrea wanted In and Out burger across the street.

They got their lunches and ate at a nearby picnic table. They shared a milkshake and then went home.

Brenda and Fritz woke up in each others arm, having cuddled the night before. Fritz enjoyed her sweet, peachy scent and she enjoyed his powerful frame

Sharon waited for Rusty to get home. Rusty got home with bite marks on his neck. He slipped inside with a leftovers.

"Where have you been?"

"We got food."

"How long does it take to get a burger and watch a movie?"

"We were talking, there was traffic." Rusty put his food in the fridge and hopped in the shower. He started scrubbing away the smell of sex and weed. Rusty toweled dry and got ready for bed.

"We'll talk about this in the morning."

"Fine," he muttered.

Sharon went to bed.

Bobby woke up in the morning and oatmeal with banana and peanut butter. Rusty woke up to the smell of food and got ready to eat. Sharon tossed and turned under the sheets. It was time to wake up but she was not in the mood to leave her bed.

Sunday

Clay took three of his grandkids out on a trip to Disney world. He left Jr. and his wife to try and enjoy a weekend alone.

It was good for Clay to get out to the house. He had trouble going on adventures since Willie Rae passed. His grandkids made it easier, especially his granddaughter Susan. She loved to bake, just like her grandma.

The kids liked having their grandpa with them. They knew their father loved him, but he was always so busy. Kids don't really remember the money their parents make at work. They remember the memories, and they wanted to have as many with their grandfather as they could.

Monday

Atlanta GA

The court scheduled a date for the hearing on the consent decree. It should be smooth sailing. Both parties signed; both attorneys gave their approval and it left the woman in the house, and there were no minor children involved, so no custody.

Chicago

Henry and Molly got the travel information booked. They were going to bring Kyle to meet his father and stay in the area to see how they bonded.

Marcus was packing his bag. He always wanted to meet his father, but he didn't want to leave his home. He grabbed a football, packed some clothes, shoes, a gameboy, his iPod. He also brought a picture of him with his grandparents, not sure if he was going to be coming back anytime soon.

Henry and Molly made a book for their grandson of family photos, postcards from their vacations, and old sports tickets. They were going to surprise him with it when they got to their destination.

Washington, DC

Charlie was glad that Thanksgiving break was coming soon. School was getting to that crummy point before finals, and her relationship was dying. She didn't know what went wrong, but she felt like they needed time away from each other. Maybe it would be easier to say it's after a break.

Prosecutors' Office

Tommy and Jackie started their paperwork. They were behind on reports and someone had to get to them. They knew their boss wouldn't. They looked at each other when they thought no one was looking

Brenda saw their cat and mouse game and wondered how long it would be before they finally gave into their urges.

Gabriel worked peacefully, paying them no mind. A visitor came to Brenda's door. "Come in."

It was Mikki. "How's it going, Chief?"

"Call me Brenda. I think friends can use first names."

Mikki smiled at that.

"What can I do for you?"

You can help me sort out my life, Mikki thought. "Can I talk to you, about Katie?"

"Sure. How'd it go on Thursday."

Mikki blushed. She was going to spare Brenda the details. "It was nice."

"What's the problem?"

"I don't know if it's moving too fast. We just met on Thursday. She spent the night. She came over on Friday. We went out Saturday. She's texting me today."

"What's the problem?"

"Brenda? I don't want …." Mikki couldn't verbalize what she didn't want.

"You don't want to screw up your relationship by going too far too fast."

"Yes."

"I don't think relationships have a right time. They just have a time. Let it happen. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised. Unless, she's a stalker. If she's a stalker, change your locks."

"She's not a stalker."

"Good."

"It's been a while, hasn't it Mikki."

"Brenda!"

"I meant since you were in a relationship, not since you've … although I guess they're related although not dispositive..."

"You're talking nonsense."

"And you came to me for advice."

"I have no idea why I did that?"

"Why didn't you ask Sue or Amy?"

"I needed someone who could be neutral."

"What do you mean?"

"They're aren't that many lesbians out there. If you find someone attractive, the resounding answer is get it while you still can, not actual advice."

"That's not a bad motto."

"Yes. It's the lesbian anthem."

"I would have thought it was a Joan Jett song."

Mikki laughed. "Well, thanks Brenda."

"Anytime."

David winked when he saw Mikki leave.

"Shut up Gabriel," Brenda told him, not even turning her head.

Hobbes was in another meeting about the Stroh case. The lawyers were arguing over the course of action. Some favored going to trial and getting a fresh conviction. Others favored getting a deal on this case and then focusing on the other cases. Even if they had to go to trial again, they had him locked up for a while and could use this case to establish his m.o, for a retrial. They wanted a permanent conviction, now. The DA didn't like the idea of retrying the earlier cases. He didn't want to put Brenda or Rusty on the stand again. They didn't resolve anything, yet again.

Major Crimes

An angry father came into the station alleging his daughter was abused at a house party. Quinn was 15. She was quiet the whole time. Her father did most of the talking.

"Would you like to have an advocate?" Sharon asked her.

"She has her father!"

Quinn stayed silent.

"Sometimes it's easier for girls if they talk to a woman about what happened."

The father kept running his mouth about how teenage boys were all hornballs, and he shouldn't have let Quinn go to the party.

"Do you know his name?"

The father kept talking.

"Sir, I need to ask you to step outside."

"I'm her father!"

"Yes, and she hasn't said a word. I can't start my investigation unless I hear her story, and I can't hear anything with your voice ringing in my ear."

The father looked at her and left. "I want a transcript of this conversation."

Once things calmed down, Sharon began.

"Quinn. Did you want to speak to a counselor?"

She shook her head.

"Did you want to talk to me?"

She shrugged.

"So you went to a party on Saturday, is that right?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't much of a party. It was like 10 kids."

"What were you all doing?"

"We were playing drinking games."

"Do you know these kids?"

"Some of them. I know Jimmy and Phil and Sally."

"What happened?"

"We were playing Edward 40-hands."

"Come again."

"You tape 40s to your hands and you can't take them off until you're done. I never played before, I got sick."

"Did you do anything other than drink?"

"No. Jimmy and Sally carried me upstairs and held me as I threw up. Jimmy tried to get me into the shower. That's when Phil's father came home. He called my dad and that's why we're here."

"When Jimmy took you to the shower, did he try anything?"

"No. He was trying to clean me up. I threw up everywhere. Sally was with him the whole time."

Quinn started crying. Sharon put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a tissue.

"It's going to be alright."

"No it's not. Daddy's really mad. He said he'd kill Jeremy."

"Have they had trouble before?"

"He doesn't like Jimmy because we cut math once. We just went to get burgers, but my dad didn't believe me."

"Is your mom around?"

"She left my dad. She couldn't handle his temper."

"Would you like us to call her for you?"

Quinn nodded.

Tao went looking for her mother.

Jeremy's father was complaining in the murder room. He wanted charges brought against Quinn's father for threatening to kill Jeremy. Also, he's trying to get Jeremy expelled.

Quinn signed her statement, and they let her go.

Sharon sat down Jeremy's father an Jeremy in interview room 2. She made sure Quinn's father didn't see them.

"Listen, I already interviewed Quinn."

"My son is not a rapist."

"She never said that he was."

Jeremy sighed. "This was such a dumb idea."

"Do you want to tell me your side?"

"It was Matt's birthday. Phil's parents were supposed to be gone for the weekend. We were playing Edward 40 hands. Phil wanted the girls to play. I thought it was too much beer for them. Quinn got sick. She started puking. Phil started yelling. Sally and I tried to clean her up. Phil's dad came home. Their weekend cabin flooded, so they decided to come back. The father was yelling. Phil was supposed to be at his uncle's house. The whole night was a disaster. Is Quinn okay?"

"She's fine, now."

"What about school?"

"I have no jurisdiction there. I would suggest he gets an advocate if he has a hearing."

ADA Baldwin was watching the interview. She thought they had a slam dunk MIP case. Taylor didn't see the point. They got caught. Their parents gave them hell. No one got seriously hurt.

"What about Quinn's father?"

"What did he do?"

"When he came to pick up Quinn, he was pounding on the door. Sally helped her get dressed and I jumped out the window and climbed down the trellis. He's scary when he's mad.

I hid outside until my father got there and went home.

"When I woke up on Sunday, he was pounding on our door, screaming that he was going to get me for what I did to Quinn. He said if I set foot in school or went near her again, he would kill me. I didn't want to go to school today. They pulled me out of class, but I wouldn't talk to them without my father."

"We will investigate, and if he contacts you again, call the police. Don't confront him." Sharon looked at the father. "You may need to file for a TRO."

Sanchez and Provenza took Quinn and her father one way while Flynn and Sykes took Jeremy and his father the other. They waited for Quinn to leave first and then they let Jeremy leave.

Quinn's mother was on her way to check on her daughter. She gave up on Quinn's father, but she never gave up on Quinn. Normally, she took Quinn for the weekend, but she wanted to hang out with her friends, so she let her. She was wondering if she made a huge mistake.


	50. What to Do about the World

Tuesday Morning

Bobby got a call from his cousin telling him the hearing was in 4 weeks. He could go, but Jacob had power of attorney, so he could stay in LA. He was ready to get divorced.

He had taken Hunter for a run before work. She slept in the apartment as Bobby directed his crew.

Gabriel was wearing a new suit. He went shopping with Eliza over the weekend. She had a vision and his clothes demonstrated that. David loved his new suit. When he looked in the mirror, he thought of Eliza.

Eliza started going through her sketches, picking the best bases for her sculpture project. Gabriel was going to be her next project. She was going to extract her feelings for him and bring them to life in her art.

FBI

El Torro was finally deemed competent to stand trial by a shrink. He was a vengeful, angry man but he was sane. He knew that if he kept acting up, he could delay the proceedings.

Fritz testified as to what he saw the night they arrested him. He told the grand jurors about the deserted area, the drop off, how he saw El Torro open a brick and inspect the drugs himself. He took the drugs and loaded them in his car. He turned over the cash. The FBI and DEA surrounded them as they got ready to leave. They seized everything, cuffed everyone, took photos of it all and took everything and logged it into evidence right away.

He stepped down and left the courtroom.

He called his wife, who was eating a pastry.

"Hey Sexy!"

"Oh! Mark," she gasped. "My husband doesn't get home until 5."

"Who the hell's Mark!"

"I was just teasing, Fritz."

Fritz felt dumb. "You got me."

"I know. How was the hearing?"

"It went well. How about you?"

"Right now, I'm just advising a squad on how to investigate a robbery gang. They have been picking my brain all morning."

"That will take a long time. You have quite a brain."

"Why thank you? Can't wait until we get home tonight."

"You don't want Mark instead."

"No. He's boring me."

"Bye boo."

Tommy noticed David's new suit. "You've gone avantgarde on us?"

"It must be his new girlfriend. Chief says she's a hottie."

"She is," that's all Gabriel would give them. He smiled at the idea that Brenda thought Eliza was hot. In the back of his dirty mind was the idea of Mikki bending Brenda over a desk. A boy can dream.

Afternoon

Taylor was not happy. Quinn's father made a plea to the media that a molester is at the high school and no one is doing anything about it. Luckily, the news stations refused to air Jeremy's name because he's a minor. The school refused to comment.

Poor Flynn had to go in front of the camera and explain that a full investigation had been conducted, which is true, Sally and the other kids who would talk were interviewed, and they all attested that the boy in question had not molested anyone, nor had he attempted to do so.

They asked him about why the father was making allegations. Flynn tried to answer, but it was a pointed question. He said it's hard when fathers are watching their daughters grow up. Sometimes incidents happen, and they convince themselves of the worst.

You know it's a bad day when Flynn is your best media representative available.

Evening

Andrea was tired. She and Flynn were getting fed up with work. "How about a vacation?"

"Really," Flynn asked. "Where to?"

"Anywhere but here. Actually, I would be fine if we said we went away, turned off our phones and stayed home instead."

"Just not go to work."

"I'll get to work, on you." Andrea pulled him to her and started a kiss.

Sharon's House

She wanted to sit down with Rusty.

"Can we talk?"

"Am I in trouble?"

"No."

Sharon explained her case, how a bunch of young teens got drunk, it got out of control and they were all facing real problems. "I want you to know, Rusty, that I know kids experiment. I know they tell tales, they drink, they smoke weed. I just want you to know that if you get into something, and it gets out of control, you can come to me. Also if you ever get picked up, demand a lawyer and stop talking."

"Thanks, Sharon. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Did you ever do drugs?"

Sharon was not expecting that answer, but she decided to be honest. "I was a freshman in college. I met this group of sophomores. They took me back to their sweet and I tried smoking marijuana with them. I thought it was awful. It was harsh. I coughed a lot. I got confused, and I couldn't stop eating."

Rusty laughed. "Do you think it should be illegal?"

Sharon shook her head. "I don't even know anymore. Do I think there are better ways to spend my time? Absolutely, but I could say the same thing about alcohol or cigarettes too."

Rusty had more questions about Quinn. "What's going to happen to her now?"

"Her mother came for her, and it might be better if she stayed with her for a while. She's pretty shaken up about her father, and the aftermath of all of this."

Wednesday

Andrea and Flynn took a shower together. If they had more time, then they would fuck, but Andrea had yet another meeting. He grabbed her and kissed her before they got dressed. They quickly toasted bagels, added some cream cheese and headed out the door. They carpooled to save on gas.

Flynn got to work, and Taylor was in the office. He was not liking the media attention, but there wasn't much else to do. Provenza was reading his paper. Sykes was working on paperwork. Sanchez was helping with the gang task force, and Tao was tagging along with SID for the morning. Sharon was chatting with an irritating principal.

She was trying to explain the allegations without getting into the underlying drinking. The last thing she needed was for victims or potential victims to be afraid to talk to the police because someone might get in trouble for teen drinking. She explained that a girl got sick, and a boy and a girl helped care for her as there were no adults home. She left it at that.

The principal kept prying and Raydor finally said because they were minors, she had to consider their privacy interests, and if he needed anything more, she was sure Chief Taylor would be able to determine which information was appropriate for release. She dodged a bullet and then came out and saw him in the murder room. Crap!

Eliza's Loft

Eliza took her little blocks of clay and made miniture models of Gabriel. She liked to practice small, study the work from all angles and then make her big final project.

It was hard to concentrate, even the memories of David distracted her. She closed her eyes and imagined the feeling of his touch. Her hands worked without her eyes and she started to shape the clay. After about 10 minutes, she opened her eyes. She liked what she had. Her hands were able to draw in her memories and make a model.

She took the model and started shifting body positions, angles, strudied it in different lighting. She took notes. She was taking her time, nice and slow. This project was going to be perfect.

Prosecutors' Office

She met with the DA alone about the Stroh case.

"What do you think? Do you think Brenda can take the stand again?"

"She's a strong girl. She can face him, but I don't think she should have to. He broke into her house, tried to kill her, stabbed a boy in front of her, and now, we need her to take the stand again. What happened to being lawyers? What happened to defending our cases on appeal and winning?"

"The Mayor decided to be a cheap fuck!"

"Well, if this case isn't important enough to fight for, I don't know what is."

"I don't either."

Brenda' Apartment

Brenda was running late for work, again. She overslept. Fritz tried to wake her, but she rolled over and went back to sleep. She was just getting her pants on when the doorbell rang. She opened it. "How can I help you?"


	51. Sometimes Wishes Come True

"My name is Marcus Ginn. I am here to meet my father." Brenda was hoping Bobby didn't have a secret love child. He didn't look like Bobby at all. If anything he looked like ….

"Please come in."

"Can my grandparents come too?"

"Of course."

He walked inside and motioned two people down below. They walked up, slowly making their way to the open door.

"How did you end up here?"

"My grandfather had my DNA tested. He said they found a familial match in Michigan. We got her information, and she said she had a brother."

"Was her name Liz Howard?"

"Yes. It was. Is my father here?"

"He's at work right now. I'll give him a call."

Henry and Molly made it to the door. "Henry Ginn, sorry for the intrusion."

"Molly Ginn."

Brenda welcomed them both inside.

She called her husband. He was in a meeting, so his partner answered.

"I need you to get him."

"He's in a meeting."

"I heard you the first time. I need him."

"Can I take a message?"

"Sure. The message is I need him to step out of the meeting and pick up the phone."

"Cute, but he's currently …."

"He is currently my husband and I want to talk to him, directly, about matters that are none of your business."

"He won't be free until..."

"I will drive down there if I have to, and I WILL make a scene."

"Fine. I will get him, but …."

Fritz was currently at a meeting with the deputy director of the DEA. His partner motioned him to come outside. "Excuse me a minute."

"It's your wife. She insists on talking to you now. I tried to tell her you were busy, but she threatened..."

Fritz took the phone. "Brenda. I am currently in a meeting with..."

"I know you are at a meeting. I wouldn't have called you out of it if this wasn't more important."

Fritz sighed. "What is it?"

"Your son is here and he would like to meet you."

"I don't have a son, Brenda."

"Well, according to your DNA you do."

"What!"

"I'm looking at a DNA test that says Liz is his aunt, so unless you have a secret brother..."

Fritz almost passed out. He couldn't believe he had a child. "I'll be home right away."

Fritz grabbed his briefcase and went home.

"What should I tell the director?"

"I don't know. Cover for me." Fritz took off.

He never drove so fast. He wanted a son for so long and to think he had one all along. He should have asked Brenda questions. What was his name? How old was he? Where has he been?

He ran up the stairs and bust through the door. He stopped when he saw a boy with dark, straight hair and brown eyes. The family resemblance was strong.

"I'm Fritz," he said.

"Marcus." Marcus didn't know what he thought his father would look like. He was surprised that he looked so much like him. They stared at each other for a while, both frozen in time. Marcus had been waiting for this moment his whole life. Fritz never saw it coming. Joel came out and found Marcus. He jumped on his lamp and Marcus began to rub his back.

Brenda wanted to give them some space. She started talking to Henry and Molly. "Where did you all hail from?"

"Chicago. Marcus grew up there, in the house we've had for over 40 years now. Henry showed her a picture.

"This is gorgeous."

"You should see the garden. Molly designed it and planted it."

They showed her photos. Brenda was in awe.

Fritz finally spoke. "I don't know what to say. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Where have you been my whole life?"

The room went quiet. "That depends. How old are you?"

"I'll be 12 in January."

Fritz started counting backwards, April of 2001 is when he was made.. Meghan Gunn is his mother. I moved to LA in 2002 and I've been here ever since. I didn't know I had a son."

"My mom didn't tell you."

"I came home one day and she was gone. She took her stuff and my stuff and that was the last I saw of her. I probably shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. I don't know her, either. So what do you do all day."

"I work for the FBI."

"Do you have a badge?" Fritz showed him.

"Cool! Do you have a gun?"

"Marcus!" His grandmother didn't want him playing with any guns.

Fritz discretely showed him his holster.

"Very cool," Marcus whispered.

Fritz and Marcus began to talk about football. Marcus was a Colts fan. Fritz was a Giants fan. Marcus is a quarterback. Fritz was a tight end at Georgetown. "Wanna throw around the pigskin."

"I keep one in my backpack."

They went outside.

Henry smiled, glad to see them getting along.

Michigan

Liz was hoping everything was working out with Marcus. She thought about calling Fritzi and telling him he had progeny, but she thought the moment should be shared face to face.

She texted Brenda. "Are they there?"

Major Crimes

Quinn's father was threatening a civil lawsuit against the school, the city, everyone. Taylor was ready to pull out his hair. Quinn's mother came to the office. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course," Sharon told her, bringing her to her office.

"I want to thank you for being so nice to Quinn. She really appreciated having someone who could actually let her talk."

"Of course. How's she doing?"

"She's doing better. I went to see the judge about her coming to live with me. She needs to get away, and she could go to a different school. She doesn't want to go back."

"Have the students been giving her a hard time?"

"Jeremy hasn't done anything, but Phil has been nasty, not to her face, but he's been running his mouth, blaming her for the whole incident. She would rather go to school without the distractions."

"I hope this all works out for both of you. It must be hard. Quinn's father has such a temper, and teenagers can be so cruel."

"I couldn't stay with him. I didn't want to leave him with Quinn, but I couldn't afford as good a lawyer. I had to get visitation"

"If you need to go back to court," Sharon handed her a card. "She's a great family law lawyer. She can protect Quinn's interest, and she takes cases pro Bono."

Thank You so much!"

Flynn called his daughters on Skype. He hid in an empty room, so no one would see him.

"Hey Dad."

"Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I am at work. I just wanted to tell you two that I love you very much."

"What happened at work?"

"What!"

"You never get this sappy unless something happened at work. Did a young girl get killed again?"

"No one got killed. We had a case with a teenage girl, and her father has the worst temper I have ever seen. He yells and screams all day and keeps going to the press, when she wants this whole thing to die down. My first thought was to punch him."

"Classic Dad."

"My second thought was how horrifying it must be to live with someone with such a short fuse, and if I ever made you feel that way..."

"Dad! Rehashing the past is useless. We grew up all right. We're not scared of you. How we felt in the past is irrelevant."

"But I..."

"You can't undrink those bottles, Dad. But you can be here for us now."

"Okay. I can do that."

Brenda and Fritz apartment.

Marcus had a great spiral. He was accurate and stood tall in the pocket. Fritz felt bittersweet. He was proud that his son was skilled, but he felt like he messed up. He should have known. He should have been there to teach his son how to throw a football.

"How come you came now?" Brenda asked Henry.

"What do you mean? We didn't know who his father was earlier."

"But did you look?"

"No," Henry admitted.

"Our daughter was a hot mess," Molly explained. "We didn't know who the father was or if she knew or what. We took him in and loved him as our own. We messed up Meghan. We couldn't mess up Marcus."

"But why did you look now? You didn't look for 11 years. What am I missing?"

Molly got tense. Henry started. "We're getting old and sick, and we don't know how much longer we can raise Marcus."

"You want him to come here."

Henry nodded. Molly weeped.

"We would love to have him. Fritz always wanted children."

Henry felt a pang of guilt. Fritz had a son, all this time, and no one ever bothered to find him and let him know.


	52. Flipped Out

Gabriel, Tommy, and Jackie were all wondering why Brenda didn't come to work.

"Should you call her?" Tommy asked Jackie.

"Gabriel should call her?" said Jackie.

"Why me?" questioned David.

"You're her favorite," Tommy answered. Jackie nodded.

Gabriel sighed.

FBI Office- Fritz's boss and his boss's boss confront Fritz's partner

What do you mean Fritz just left the building?

"His wife called. I told her over and over again he was busy. She said if I didn't get him, she would crash the meeting and make a scene. I gave him the phone, and he talked to her briefly. He said 'I don't have a son', then 'wait', then 'I'll be right there' and then he left."

"What do you want to tell the director?" The boss asked his boss.

"Call Fritz and tell him to get his ass back here."

Major Crimes

Gunshots rang out at the public high school. Jeremy had been in gym class when a masked shooter approached the gym with a rifle. Kyle was on his way to talk to the coach when he saw the shooter was in front of him. The shooter aimed at Jeremy and Kyle tackled him. The gun went off, a bullet went through the roof as they fought. Kyle punched him and put him in a submission hold. The shooter was taller but unable to get out of Kyle's grasp. The gym teacher grabbed the ropes from PE and tied up the shooter. He secured the gun.

The police were called as soon as the gunshot went off. The bullet almost killed a janitor who was just getting ready to mop the floor. Wounded, he called the police telling them a bullet came from the floor and struck him.

The police and the bomb dogs came immediately. They locked down the school, rushed to the janitor, apprehended the shooter and checked room by room. The principal canceled class for the day and sent all the students home, except for the witnesses. They were interviewed one by one.

They had taken off the shooter's mask, took his picture and circulated it to the school's staff and administrators. No one recognized him.

They all told variations of the same story. Gunman appeared, aimed in Jeremy's direction, Kyle jumped gunman and bullet hit the floor.

Parents descended, freaked out, demanding their children, Jeremy's father was screaming, demanding Quinn's father be jailed for this.

"He wasn't the shooter," Raydor told him.

"He hired him. I know it," he told Sharon.

"We will pick up Quinn's father."

Uniforms got to his work. He was in his office, drunk. They brought him downtown.

The shooter lawyered up immediately. They asked him if he already had an attorney. He said know. They got the phonebook and called one for him.

The janitor was in the hospital in critical condition. Chief Taylor called his wife and mother, telling them the bad news. They started balling. He was trying to save money to pay for his daughter's education. She was at the top of her class and hoped to go to Stanford.

Sykes waited for them at the hospital, told them they already caught the shooter, and they were working as hard as they could to close the case.

"What's to close?"

"The shooter was aiming at a student; one he didn't know. Why?"

Outside the gym, there had been a motorcycle. Apparently, the shooter planned to get away on it.

Flynn and Provenza interviewed Quinn's father. "Do you know why you're here?" Provenza started

"I'm being punished for exercising my constitutional rights, and I will file suit."

"You are here because you are a suspect in a school shooting that occurred at your daughter's former school this morning."

"That's ridiculous. Why would I shoot …."

"Jeremy was the target," Flynn interrupted.

"Is he dead?"

"No. He was uninjured."

"Then, it wasn't me.."

Flynn and Provenza looked at each other. "We caught the shooter."

"Why am I here?"

"He didn't know Jeremy. We think someone hired him. Someone with a grudge."

In another room, Tao had shown Jeremy an image of the shooter. Jeremy didn't know him.

The shooter's name was Hans. He had been kicked out of the military for going rogue on missions when he was in Iraq. He would lead campaigns without authority and was accused of causing the death of 3 innocent civilians on one of the raids. They couldn't convict him of murder but they did get him for dereliction of duty, unauthorized use of force and insubordination. He served 5 years before getting released 3 months ago. He currently has little assets/finances and lives with his mother. He somehow spent 5,000 on the motorcycle found at the scene. It was titled and registered in his name.

Sanchez called his mother and she said she could come in the afternoon. He did not tell her that they had arrested her son for attempted murder.

Bobby's Work

A fight broke out at the site, leaving men bruised looking like hell. One guy made one comment too many about his co-worker's wife's new breasts, and he got a fist to the face. He fell on another dude, with a short temper, and the fight was on.

Bobby would have none of his. He sent both men home for the day, no pay, and he docked the pay of all of the other men who escalated the fight for the hours they did that day before the fight and had them keep working. Construction zones could be dangerous. He did not need this kind of behavior in his office. He pulled the wife-commenter aside, and said, "If had said those things about my wife, you wouldn't have any teeth."

The men got to work. The conversations were sparse. No one wanted to be on Bobby's bad side.

Andrea's Work

Andrea was having trouble finding a reliable subletter. She got a few visits to the house, but she didn't want to rent to college kids or a couple that couldn't get through the walk through without fighting constantly. She sighed and tried to focus on her work. She got a phone call from Flynn. "Hey boo."

"Andrea, I need you to come to the station. We caught this jerk at school who tried to kill a student. He lawyered up and we need to figure out who hired him. His lawyer's on the way, perhaps to make a deal."

"I'll be right over." Andrea grabbed her work bag and was on her way.

When Hans's lawyer applied, his client claimed the police had beaten him. It triggered an immediate FID investigation, calling Sgt. Elliot an his lieutenant to the scene.

"We need to interview him first." He told Sharon. "Of course, you know the rules."

"He got beat up by a high school student, not the police."

"He claims otherwise."

"We have 25 witnesses."

"Then this investigation will be over quickly."

Sharon stepped aside.

Sgt Elliot let Hans tell his story. "I was minding my own business, riding my bike. I know I shouldn't have been on school grounds, but I just got the bike and was getting used to handling it. Anyway, the police showed up, yelled at me to get off my bike. When I did, they threw me to the ground and beat me. I complained about my injuries to an officer when I arrived but everyone ignored me until my lawyer got here."

FID knew when it was being played. They, however, needed to treat every investigation the same as to protect the integrity of their work. They had a doctor examine his injuries. His shoulder was badly damaged and he would need x-rays. They were done in the morgue.

"This is inappropriate," the lawyer complained.

"We need to know exactly how he injured his shoulder to complete the investigation. He has filed a complaint for excessive force. We need to see how the force was applied."

The doctor took the x rays and went to make her findings.

"Can you tell us which officer hit you?" Elliot asked.

"I'm not sure. It was a couple of them all at once. I only saw fists."

Buzz reviewed the tape from the interview with Hans. He saw that the guy kept ramming his shoulder into the wall for while before Flynn and Provenza arrived. Buzz showed the tape to Elliot.

"Hod did you hurt your shoulder?"

"They must have ripped it when they forced my hands back and cuffed me."

Elliot left. He had enough of this fool.


	53. Raw Emotions

Fritz's partner arrived at his apartment and was surprised to see Fritz with a 11 year old boy.

"Jed, this is my son, Marcus."

"Marcus, this is Jed. We work together."

Marcus said hello and kept playing.

"Cookies," Brenda yelled from the top of the stairs. She used her mother's recipe and tried to measure everything just right. Marcus took his football and sprinted up the stairs.

"Since when do you have a son?"

"I just found out about him today. My ex never told me she was pregnant."

"He's why you up and left work, no explanation."

"Yes. He's been waiting to meet me his whole life. I owed him today, at the very least."

Jed sighed and called his boss. "Fritz can't come back today."

"See you tomorrow, Howard." Jed was gone.

Marcus washed his hands and poured himself a glass of milk. He went right for the cookies, chocolate chip with macadamia nuts. "Yummy," he yelled as he bit into a cookie.

"Indoor voice, Marcus." his grandmother reminded him.

He washed down each bite with some milk. He was in kid heaven.

Henry helped himself to some cookies as well. He loved sweets.

Brenda was glad they came out well. She wished her mother had gotten to meet Marcus. Brenda's phone rang. "David, what is it?"

"Are you coming to work, Chief?"

"Not today, something came up."

"Are you alright? Should I come over there?"

"I'm fine Gabriel. We just had a surprise today. I'll be there tomorrow."

Prosecutor's office

Gabriel shrugged. "She's not coming today. Something came up."

"What does that mean?" Jackie didn't get it.

"What came up? The second coming. Since when does Chief just play hookey?" Tommy was baffled.

"It's not like her at all," Gabriel concurred.

Major Crimes

Hobbes was reluctant to offer a deal. She was still a little raw about the Baylor case, and she didn't want this guy to pull a fast one on them, especially when everything he had said, so far, has been a total lie. Taylor also didn't want any crappy deals, but he didn't want whomever hired the shooter to try again. He wanted to protect Jeremy.

Sharon and Andrea went to interview Hans. "Before we start," Sharon began, "let me make myself clear. We all know what happened this morning. Your client showed up with a rifle and attempted to shoot a student. He got tackled by another student, which is when he sustained those injuries to his face. He got tied up by the gym teacher, which is how he got those marks on his wrists and ankles and he was arrested and promptly brought to a room, where he smashed his own shoulder into the wall repeatedly, so he could damage it and try and get some money out of it."

"I did no such..." Hans started. His lawyer told him to shut up.

"We have the video of his ramming his own shoulder and a doctor's report saying his injuries stemmed from the ramming and not by being cuffed by the police."

The lawyer sighed. "I reported what my client told me. I have a responsibility to take his side."

"And we have a responsibility to find the truth. We know your client is indigent but he has a nice motorcycle that he bought shortly before the shooting."

"What are you insinuating that Hans was hired to do what you allege he did?"

"We both know that. Our only question is will your client help himself by cooperating."

"I want immunity."

Andrea became tense. "You tried to murder a teenager, we have enough evidence to bury you easily. and you have lied about everything you said today. Even if we wanted a deal, how could we credit your testimony?"

Taylor shook his head. This was not going to be a good day.

"If our client gave you the name of the man who hired him, what would you be willing to offer him?"

Andrea said, "We would be willing to offer him 15 years, on the condition that he cooperates fully and answers all of our questions completely and to the best of his knowledge. Any attempt to misdirect us or any lies would forfeit the deal."

"15 years. He's better off at trial." The lawyer didn't like this.

"He's facing multiple life sentences: attempted murder, over 25 counts of false imprisonment, bringing a rifle into a high school, aggravated assault. He almost killed a janitor this morning. 15 years is very generous."

He spoke to his client. "We'll take it."

Andrea had the paperwork drafted. Hans signed it. He named Quinn's father as the man who hired him.

He said the man paid him in cash. Andrea was still skeptical about his confession. So was Sharon.

They did a little experiment. They brought Billy's father in a lineup, and asked Hans to pick him out. Hans picked the wrong suspect, an ice cream maker. Sharon and Andrea knew they had Hans, but they didn't tell him that yet.

Tao checked Quinn's father's finances. No indication that 5k just disappeared recently. He seemed to work paycheck to paycheck. He got child support from his ex-wife, but she didn't make all that much. "Where could he have come up with 5k?"

"He didn't," was Andrea's answer. "Quinn's father is an easy target. Everyone knows he hates Jeremy and anyone who wanted to kill Jeremy could pay the shooter to lie, and say it was Quinn's father who paid him. He didn't even recognize Quinn's father in a line up."

"Who else wants the boy dead?"

"Let's find out," Sharon responded.

They went through everything. The boy's school records, his friends parents, the school administrators. No one knew why someone would try and kill him. They released Quinn's father and put a uniform outside his house, just in case. They also kept a uniform outside Jeremy's house, and told his family it was for their protection.

After a long day, the team went home.

Brenda and Fritz

They all went out for dinner. They found a great burger place, and Marcus loved it. Brenda and Fritz gave Henry and Molly a list of sites to take Marcus to see. He was staying in the hotel with them. After dinner, Marcus gave a big hug to his father, step-mother, and step-uncle and went with his grandparents.

When they got home, Brenda and Fritz started to talk.

"I can't believe I have had a son all this time." Fritz was still amazed at today.

"I know. We should talk about Marcus."

"You like him, don't you?" Fritz was getting nervous.

"Of course. I adore him. How could you even ask me that?"

"What did you want to talk about?"

"His grandparents told me that the reason they looked you up now is that they're getting older and don't think they can take care of him anymore. They want him to come live with us."

Of course Fritz wanted his son to live with him. He was 11 years behind and had a lot of fathering to make up. "What did you tell them?"

"That we would love to have him, but we can't have him here. This place is too small for all of us."

"We need a house," Fritz agreed. "And where is Bobby going. Is he going to move in with Sharon?"

"I haven't asked him yet. They're glued at the unhip."

"Let's look at houses tomorrow, preferably ones to rent. Then, we could find something quicker than having to close on a house."

Brenda agreed to start looking in the morning.


	54. The Meltdown

Thursday Morning

Major Crimes

Chief Taylor's office

"Why haven't you arrested Quinn's father yet?"

"We don't have enough evidence."

"The shooter confessed that he hired him."

"The shooter is a compulsive liar, and he couldn't pick Quinn's father out of a lineup. We also can't figure out where Quinn's father could have gotten the money to pay him. We need something to support this confession."

"What if Jeremy gets hurt or killed?"

"We have a uniform outside his house, another outside Quinn's house and the school is closed until next week."

"If not Quinn's father, then who."

"We don't know yet."

"I'll leave you to find out, hopefully before Monday."

Sharon gulped and got back to work.

The team was trying there best, but they were getting no where. Andrea was with them. She and Flynn sat at the same desk, but they were both focused on work. "Why kill a 16 year old? It doesn't make sense."

"What did you say Andrea?" Sharon looked at her.

"Why would someone want to kill a 16 year old?"

"That's it. We've been trying to figure out who without figuring out why. If we can figure out why someone would be better off without Jeremy, we can figure out who hired Hans."

"How do we do that?" Provenza didn't like figuring out people's motivations. He just liked hauling them to jail.

"Let's think about why people commit murders and figure out which ones would apply to Jeremy." Flynn liked his girlfriend's idea.

"I'll start," said Tao. "People kill for money."

Sykes wrote them down on the board.

"Scorned lover," Sanchez followed.

"Pure hatred," said Flynn.

"Revenge," said Provenza.

"How is that different from hatred?" Flynn looked at him.

"Revenge means you feel wronged. You can hate anyone for no reason at all, like me and Carly Rae Jepsen. I hate her."

Everyone laughed at that.

"Insurance," wrote Sykes.

"That should go with money," said Tao.

"No wait," said the Captain. "We should subdivide money. Not everyone would get money in the same way."

Sykes added insurance to money.

"Inheritance," said Sanchez.

"He has no assets," said Provenza.

"He could be next in line," said Sanchez.

"We need his family tree," said Sharon.

Tao did some research and printed it out. "Jeremy is an only child and his father's father is a rich man, a very rich man who's family has been rich for a long time. The property and the money has been passed down by generation through the male heirs. Jeremy is next in line provided he turns 21."

"Not his father."

"No, straight to Jeremy"

"What happens if Jeremy were dead before 21."

"It would revert to the next male heir, his second cousin Mark, who is 22. If he died, then it would revert to Mark's father."

"And if he died after 21," asked Provenza

"It would go to the father, unless the son named a different heir."

"Where do Mark and his father live?"

"San Bernardino"

"Let's call them in for an interview."

Mark and his father arrived that afternoon. They had been told that it was important and it was about Jeremy.

Mark's father started. "It's horrible. I can't believe Jeremy is dead."

"Jeremy is not dead," Sharon told him. "Why did you think he was dead?"

"You called us here and there was that shooting at his school. We've been worried sick."

"The shooter aimed at Jeremy, but he was stopped."

"Oh Thank God!" Mark said, a little dramatically.

"We need you to help us figure out why someone would shoot Jeremy."

"But you have the guy."

"We have him, but he appears to have been hired by someone and we need to figure out who hired him and why."

"How can we help?" Mark asked. He liked his cousin Jimmy.

"We understand that Jeremy is next in line to inherit his grandfather's estate."

"If he turns 21," the father pointed out.

"Someone tried to kill him now, while he is 16." Sharon stated shortly.

"We wouldn't kill Jeremy," his father stated.

"He's my friend," Mark added.

"It hardly seems fair. You're both family, but Jeremy would get all the money and you would get nothing."

"Jeremy's not like that and neither am I. We've always been close. He spent last summer at my house with me."

"Why was that?"

"He and his father don't get along," Mark's father answered. "They were arguing over how to use the estate. Jeremy's father wants him to fire all of the staff and turn the mansion into a business. He wanted it to have luxurious parties and events."

"Jeremy wants to leave it the way his grandfather has it now. He cares about the staff. He wouldn't kick them out of their homes."

"They live there?"

"The butler, the maids, the cook, they all have quarters in the estate and they're nice. Jeremy wanted to leave them be. He wanted his cousins to be able to visit for weekends like we do now. He's a family man, just like his grandfather."

"Is that why the will skips the father?"

"I don't know why uncle Louie skipped him, but they don't see eye to eye. No one sees eye to eye with that man. We haven't spoken to him since last summer."

Andrea was watching the interview. This didn't make sense. If these people were telling the truth, then Jeremy's father was the nasty guy, but he didn't benefit from Jeremy's death. Mark benefited from the death, but he seems to love his cousin. "We need to speak to Jeremy. This doesn't make sense."

"Are you hungry or thirsty at all?"

"I could use a Coke," the father said.

"Could I get a turkey sub and an orange soda?"

"Sure. I'm going to ask you both to wait here. I'm going to need to talk to Jeremy and sort this all out."

Flynn and Provenza went to pick up Jeremy and his father.

We have a lead on the case, they told them as they were brought into an interview room.

Sykes and Sanchez brought the food and drinks to the waiting men.

Sharon and Flynn went into the interview room.

"So you arrested Quinn's father?" Jeremy's dad began.

"No. He's broke. He couldn't hire a hit man." Flynn responded quickly

"Then who did this?" Jeremy's father had a serious look on his face.

"We asked Mark and his father to come here and speak with us." Sharon continued.

"What does Mark have to do with any of this?" Jeremy asked.

"You are set to inherit a large estate from your grandfather. If you were to die before you were 21, then Mark would get it all," she answered.

"Mark wouldn't do this," Jeremy insisted.

"We have to consider all of the possibilities, although they both seem like pleasant people." While Sharon conducted her interview, Tao continued to research the estate. He called the grandfather's lawyer to ask him some questions.

"I prefer not to discuss my client's affairs with the police," the lawyer responded curtly.

"Someone tried to kill Jeremy yesterday, and we need to know who would get what if Jeremy had actually died."

"Dear God! Is he alright?"

"He's fine, now, but we're afraid someone will try again."

"What do you need to know?"

Brenda and Fritz's apartment

Brenda and Bobby spoke over coffee before work. "I can't believe Fritz has a son," Bobby started.

"Neither can I," said Brenda. "He's eventually coming to live with us."

"Here, this place is too small."

"I know."

"You want to kick me out?"

"Bobby, we're planning to move to a bigger place. We wanted to give you time to figure out arrangements."

"I've been saving money. I could get my own place."

"You should talk to Sharon."

"What about?"

Brenda gave him a stare.

"You mean about moving in. We just started dating."

"You too are like Bonnie and Clyde, always together. I'm not saying you should move in with her, but you should talk before you sign a year lease somewhere else."

"I'll talk to her at dinner tomorrow, if we're still on for it. She's having quite the case right now."

"That school shooting. I hate those."

"Who doesn't?"

The Hotel

Marcus slept soundly.

Henry plotted a course for the family on his map. Molly was packing her day bag. "They seem like nice people," Molly said, a little flat.

"Yes. I think Marcus will be happy here."

Molly looked glum.

"That's a good thing, Molly."

"I know."

"You were hoping they would suck, and we would turn right around."

"A little."

"I know. Me too, but this is best for Marcus."

They sat in silence, both dreading the inevitable.

FBI Office

Fritz scrambled to catch up on what he missed. El Torro was apparently the tip of a larger iceberg. His capture revealed that there was an intricate drug connection from Mexico to Canada. Canadians were sending BC bud down to Mexico and getting black tar heroin in return. Heroin overdoses were going up in Vancouver. Lots of cash was being made in the US by men who were trafficking the products. El Torro's arrest caused a temporary shortfall of drugs, but the market rebounded strongly, showing there was much more out there than earlier thought.

Fritz got a call from the deputy director of the DEA.

"Sir, I'm sorry I bailed yesterday. I have a son and …."

"Forget about that. The reason I wanted you at that meeting is because I wanted to talk to you. By now, you know that El Torro was a little fish in a big pond."

"Yes Sir."

"Well, I think he was more than that. I think he was a red herring."

"What!"

"I think that while you and your men were taking him down in California, a different shipment was crossing the border, a large one of heroin."

"How would they know we would find El Torro and not them?"

"I think they left El Torro, so we would find them."

"You think our informant shafted us."

"I'm afraid it could be worse. I'm afraid someone on the inside is setting us up."

"Do you mean someone in the FBI or someone in the DEA?"

"Either or both. I don't know. I just know that it took us too long to figure out this heroin gig. We have good guys, who work really hard and figure out things quickly. Someone wanted us to see El Torro as a big player, when he was the decoy. Someone him up so they could give him to us signed and sealed. Whoever did this had to know how we operate and how we allocate our resources."

"Someone on the task force?"

"Or one of their superiors. I've been watching you for a while Howard. I can tell that you get the job done. I need you to stay mum on this conversation and keep your eyes peeled. Anyone on this case could be a false friend."

"Yes sir."

"If you get suspicious of anyone, report it to me. I'll have the right people look into it, and stay discreet."

"Yes sir."

Prosecutor's Office.

Brenda showed up on time today and got to her paperwork. Her team was relieved to see her back. Gabriel kept watching her, to make sure she was, in fact, still there. Jackie and Tommy did the same.

She approved the time sheets for her team and then got to browsing houses. She saw a picture of a nice house. "Isn't that Andrea's?" She clicked on the link. "It was her house: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, fully furnished and a nice kitchen. It also had a backyard and came with access to a neighborhood pool. Brenda sent an e-mail to Fritz. "Do you want me to ask Andrea about renting her house?" She attached the link to the ad.

Major Crimes

Tao was surprised by what he learned by the lawyer. He called the captain. "Hey Captain, I just got off the phone with the grandfather's lawyer. He had some interesting things to say."

Sharon excused herself and went to see what Tao had learned.

"Jeremy's grandfather took out life insurance in the event of his death. The beneficiaries was Jeremy."

"And if Jeremy died first, then the beneficiary would be his father."

"Exactly."

"How much is this policy?" Sharon inquired

"1 million dollars, and it gets better. Jeremy's father added an additional policy for 2 million, in case Jeremy died."

"When did the second policy get taken out?"

"1 year ago, so it is now mature," Tao was glad to have figured this all out.

Sharon brought Flynn with her and caught him up to speed.

"What do you want to do?" he asked her.

"How about good cop, bad cop?"

"Can I be the good cop?" he asked with a smirk.

"I bet you couldn't if you tried."

They went back into the room.

"I know this might be difficult," Sharon started. "But we believe we are very close to figuring out who hired the shooter."

"Your cousin stood to gain a lot if you died." Flynn added

"He wouldn't do this?"

"What about his father? If Mark also died, then he would get it all." Flynn added the pressure.

"My family would not try and kill me."

"Not even for money. Lots of it. Everyone has their breaking point. For some people, greed is the trigger."

"Stop it. I don't have to listen to this."

"We should all take a deep breath," said Sharon. "Right now, there's no evidence that Mark did anything."

"What did the shooter say?" asked Jeremy's father.

"He claims that Quinn's father hired him, but he couldn't recognize him. We think he was paid to say that it was him if he got caught."

"Mark's father could have done that. I told him about the incident with Quinn's father. He could have seen this as his chance to get the money."

"Dad! How could you say that? Family means everything."

"To you, Jeremy. No to your father." Flynn responded.

"What do you mean? Take that back." Jeremy was mad.

"Your cousin told us that you and your father had a falling out last summer." Sharon said softly.

"We're passed that," Jeremy folded his arms.

"He said that you wanted to look out for the staff and for your family and your dad wanted to toss them all out on the street like yesterday's news. He wanted to use the estate to make a profit, and you wanted to keep it as a family home."

"Dad and I worked it out. It's my inheritance. I'll figure out how to use it."

"If you live long enough to accept it," Flynn responded, adding fuel to the fire.

Tao found a 5k cash advance that was taken from Jeremy's account two days before Hans bought the motorcycle. His father was a co-signer on the account. He had to have withdrawn the money.

He knocked on the door and handed the slip of paper to Sharon. She smiled.

"When did you tell Mark's father about Quinn's father?"

"A couple of days afterwards. I was freaked out."

"So you and he are close."

"Kind of. We are family."

"Then why did he say that you two didn't see eye to eye, and he hasn't spoken to you in months."

"I..."

"If we checked your phone statements and e-mail accounts, would we find any evidence of a conversation between you two." Flynn inquired.

"If we checked their bank statements, would we find a 5k withdrawal?"

"How would I know what you would find in their accounts?"

"What about your accounts?"

"I haven't touched my accounts."

"But you took money from Jeremy's."

"What are you talking about? What is she talking about dad?"

"I am talking about the 5k your father took out of your account two days before the shooter bought his motorcycle, which was to be his get away vehicle."

"I can explain that," the father stammered.

"That's for my college fund."

"I needed it to pay bills," the father seemed to admit.

"And if we check with your billers, will we find you paid them in cash?"

"I put the money in my account. I wrote them checks."

"We checked your accounts. You did no such thing." Raydor responded.

Flynn continued, "You know what we also checked, your life insurance policy."

"I don't have one."

"That is odd for a single father isn't it. Not having anything in case he is killed, so that his son can survive."

"Jeremy will be fine. He's due to inherit a lot of money."

"Do you know what's even odder?" Flynn continued. "You had no policy for yourself, but you took out a 2 million dollar policy for your son."

"You did what Dad?"

"Most parents take out 5-10k, enough for a funeral and a wake, etc. 3 million is a lot of money for a kid." Sharon added.

"He is inheriting a big estate. If something happened to him, we would need the money to settle his affairs."

"Did your father tell you about this policy?" Flynn asked Jeremy.

"No, he didn't."

"Is this your signature," Raydor asked him.

"I never signed that."

"I signed it for him. He's my son. It was for the family."

"But his grandfather already took out a 1M policy to cover the estate's expenses upon his death," Sharon countered. "Why would you need another 2M?"

"And why did no one in your family know about it. Your father was shocked to hear about it," Flynn lied. He figured out what would make him tick.

"You talked to my father."

"Yes. He had nice things to say, all about Jeremy of course. When it came to you, the conversation went a little flat." Flynn continued.

"What do you mean?"

"He was proud of Jeremy. He sees him as a good family man, someone to entrust the estate with, but he didn't trust you, did he? He leapfrogged over you."

"Jeremy's younger. It made more sense to give him the estate. I made my own money."

"Then why did you take your son's money to pay bills." Sharon added.

"You had it with Jeremy didn't you," Flynn had him cornered. "He got all the love and praise. He was going to get all of the money. You were his son, and you were getting zilch. You took out the policy and you were going to get rid of your son after he turned 21, so you could get it all, the insurance policy and the estate. But then, you had the perfect opportunity. That incident happened at Phil's house and Quinn's father went postal. He was a dumb man with a short fuse, and you saw the perfect opportunity. You hired a man to kill your son and paid him from your son's college fund, figuring no one would look there. He was to kill Jeremy and take off on the motorcycle, no one knowing who he was or why he did it. If he got caught, he was to pin it on Quinn's father. You agreed to pay for his lawyer in cash and help him get a deal."

"Dad! Tell me they're wrong. Tell me, you didn't do this."

The father's eyes turned black. "You've been nothing but trouble the day you were born. My dad hated your mother. He told me he would cut me out of the will if I married her, but I did it anyway. I loved her. Then, she died in childbirth, and I got stuck with you. My father felt guilty. He knew it was his fault. If he hadn't abandoned us, we could have gotten her a better doctor. She could have lived if it wasn't for my bastard father. He loved you and wanted to make up for not being there for her, but what about me? He was never there for me. He left me in the dark and treated you like his favorite child. He gave you his love, his praise, his estate, and what did he leave for me, a paltry allowance. I hate him, and I wanted to destroy what he loved most. The only thing I regret, is not choking the life out of you right in front of him, and then killing him next."

Jeremy ran out of the room. Flynn went to track him down.

"How did you find Hans?" Sharon had to continue. He hadn't quite confessed yet.

"He was outside the corner store, beating up a chump. He looked like a big, strong guy. I asked him if he wanted to make a quick buck. He agreed. I told him what I wanted him to do. It was supposed to be a home break in. He was supposed to beat Jeremy to death and steal some junk, but then Quinn's father went postal, and I realized I could get rid of two for the price of one. We changed it to a school shooting. I knew the layout. I did some work on the building when I was an architect. We had it all figured out. He runs in, shoots the brat and bails out the side door, riding off into the fields before anyone's the wiser, but that damn brat had to be there to ruin everything."

Sharon wrote it all down. He signed it. "You're under arrest," she told him.

Jeremy punched a hole in the wall. He couldn't believe this. All he wanted was his father to be proud of him. He never told him this, but his grandfather told him everything about his mother and her death. He wanted Jeremy to take care of his father, to make sure that after he died that he would be okay, that maybe he would find someone to love again. He wanted to keep the house because he wanted his father to be able to enjoy it too. He just wanted everything to work. Now, he just wanted to throw up.

Mark heard the noise and went outside where he saw the whole. "Jeremy, what the hell happened?"

Flynn caught up with them. "I'm sorry you had to see that. We needed to get him to talk."

"Get who to talk?" Mark was confused.

Jeremy just crumpled to the floor. Flynn explained to Mark that Jeremy's father hired the shooter and he tried to frame Quinn's father. When that failed, he tried to frame Mark's father, and then he finally confessed.

Andrea called Taylor to the scene. This was a disaster. Taylor called CPS and a child psychologist. Jeremy was going to need a lot of help. Jeremy didn't want to talk to anyone. Mark and his father agreed to take him for the night as they tried to figure out what to do next.

Jeremy's father was taken away. They used the back exits, so he wouldn't cross his son's path.

Once everything settled down, Jeremy went with Mark and his father. Taylor shook his head.

"What do we do with Hans?" Sanchez asked.

"What about him?"

"We gave him a deal and everything he said was a lie."

"The deal's moot," Taylor answered.

"We can't put him on the stand anyway," Andrea continued "Who would believe him?"

Sykes came into the room. "That was the hospital. The janitor was released today. He's going to make it, but they had to take out part of his intestines. He's going to have to retire, and may need medical attention for the rest of his life."

Sharon sighed. Andrea was furious. She wanted to nail Hans's head to the wall.

Flynn saw her rage. "I have an idea."

They called in Quinn's father, and they put him in a jail suit. They then went and built a case against him. They said he withdrew 5k from his account. They had a waitress who saw him and Hans talking in a bar. They called Hans and his lawyer and explained their case. They asked him to reaffirm his earlier testimony.

He did.

They pointed at Quinn's father. "Are you sure he's the guy?"

"100%"

"Very good."

Flynn and Provenza came in. "You are under arrest for attempted murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, child endangerment, bringing a weapon into a school zone and obstruction of justice."

"He cooperated fully," the lawyer complained. "We have a deal."

"Your client ended his deal with his lies. This man is innocent. We already found the man who hired him, and we got a confession."

"My client can testify in that case. He'll tell the truth this time"

"No one will believe him. Take him away."

He was dragged off to jail. The lawyer went home, holding his head down.

Andrea sighed of relief. She didn't let a punk get the better end of a plea deal this time.


	55. Etched in Stone

Disneyland

Marcus loved New Orleans Square. The Haunted Mansion was great. Molly was a little spooked, and Henry found it hilarious. He teased her for the rest of the day.

Molly got Marcus to take pictures with Goofy and Mickey. Marcus thought it was rather silly, but he knew his grandmother loved pictures. She was a little shutterbug.

They started to head back to LA for dinner

Major Crimes

The team headed home for the day. Their nightmare of a case was closed, and there wasn't much to be done before tomorrow.

Sharon drove home to an awaiting Rusty and Kyle. "What happened to the case?"

She just then remembered that Kyle was the one who stopped this disaster from being a murder. "The shooter, and the man who hired him are both behind bars. Sharon recounted the sordid story of a hateful man who blamed his son for his wife's death and conspired to kill him for the insurance money. Kyle was stunned. Rusty's face fell. He knew how it felt to have a father that hates you and to be alone against the world. He headed to his room.

Sharon opened a bottle of wine. This was going to be a long night. Kyle wondered into Rusty's room. "Russ, what is it?"

Rusty stayed silent, lying on his bed, looking at his floor.

"It's your dad, isn't it?" Kyle didn't quite know Rusty's story, but he knew it was a dark one. He never talked about his parents or about much of anything before he came to live with Sharon. Kyle lied down next to him, resting his head on his shoulders.

Bobby's work

A guy from his work had 4 tickets to a Chargers game and couldn't make it. Bobby bought them readily. He brought them home.

Brenda and Fritz were in the living room talking. "It is a nice house," Fritz commented as he browsed through the pictures. "And there's pool access."

"What is it, boo?"

"I don't know if renting from friends is a good idea. What if she's a bad landlord? What if we're bad tenants? She might want to move back in. We might want to move out."

Brenda agreed. This could be messy. "Maybe, you're right."

Fritz looked at the pictures again. "The house comes furnished."

"I know."

"We already have furniture."

"But Bobby doesn't."

"What are you thinking?"

"He could rent our furniture or we could bring our furniture to the house, and he could rent Andrea's."

"Where is Bobby planning on living?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think he could afford this place?"

"I hadn't thought about that."

Bobby arrived. "Guess what I have?"

"A winning lottery ticket," Brenda could hope, right.

"A divorce decree," tried Fritz.

"I wish I had either of those two things. I have four tickets to the Chargers' game, this Sunday.

"Woohoo!" Fritz yelled. They both stared at him. "I'm going, right."

"Of course, dude. Who else should we bring?"

Brenda spoke, "Why don't you bring Marcus? This would be a great bonding experience."

"That's a great idea."

"We need one more."

"I bet his grandfather would like to go."

"What about Molly?"

"I think she could use a break."

"Let's ask them at dinner."

The phone rang. It was Marcus. "We're on our way. Grandpa had to take a detour because there was an accident on the freeway."

"See you soon."

"Bye, Dad."

"We should get cooking," Bobby said.

Brenda got up, and they headed for the kitchen. Bobby preheated the oven. They started pulling out ingredients: garlic, onion, tomatoes, herbs, carrots, sausage, ground beef, cubed prosciutto, salad and olive oil. Brenda crushed the garlic and chopped the onion. Bobby took some garlic and onion and put it in a bowl. He cut open the sausage, adding the filling, and then added the beef, prosciutto and salt and pepper to finish it off. He mixed it all together and rolled out meatballs, put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven.

Brenda crushed more garlic and chopped some herbs and grated some cheese. She mixed it in with olive oil. She took a baguette, sliced it long ways and poured the garlic mixture on each half loaf. She set it all in the back and went on to make the sauce. She chopped the carrots and sauteed them in olive oil. She poured some of the oil out and added onions and garlic. She turned the heat down to low and added tomatoes and the herbs. Bobby handed her an opened bottle of red wine from the fridge. Brenda added some to the pot and put a lid on it. Bobby took out a ball of pasta dough he had already made and ran it through his machine. He got long, thin sheets and then he sliced them. Bobby got a big pot of salt water ready to boil.

Brenda smelled the wine reducing nicely and added some tomato paste. She stirred the mixture until it was smooth and left it to keep cooking. She could smell the meatballs. They were almost ready and they smelled awesome.

Fritz set the table and tidied up the living room.

Bobby boiled the spaghetti in in batches and ran each one through cold water to stop them from overcooking. Brenda tasted the sauce. "It's a little acidic," she said. Bobby took a taste.

He added some salt and a little sugar. "Let it cook a little more." He took the meatballs out of the oven and put them on paper towels to help absorb some of the grease. Brenda put the bread in the oven.

The doorbell rang. Fritz answered it and got a hug from a leaping Marcus. "Dad!"

"Hey son, how was Disneyland."

"It was the best."

The trio came inside.

"Dinner smells marvelous," Henry said. "I could eat a horse."

"You'll have to settle for spaghetti," Brenda answered.

"And meatballs," added Bobby.

Molly went to put down her bag and wash her hands.

Brenda tried the sauce again. It was much better. She stirred it again.

Marcus started telling everyone about their day. A man got arrested for purse-snatching. The woman who's purse he stole started slapping him and had to be pulled away. A group of kids ran out of the haunted house screaming and one got so scared, he ran straight into a pole and fell down.

"That sounds like quite the day," Brenda answered as she tossed the pasta in olive oil, salt and pepper. Bobby took the bread out of the oven. "Dinner time."

"Wash your hands," Molly told her boys. They got straight to it.

Henry loved his food. It wasn't long before it was all gone.

"We have plenty," Bobby told him. "Help yourself."

"You won't with that invitation," went Molly. Henry looked at her and got more food.

Marcus loves parmesan cheese. He spooned a big pile of it onto his pasta. "Did you catch any bad guys today, Dad?"

"Not today, but last month, we caught a drug trafficker trying to bring a truckload of cocaine into the border."

"A big truck?"

"A huge one."

"Awesome. Did they have guns?"

"They did, but we caught them by surprise. They were surrounded."

"Sweet!"

Molly was nervous about all the gun talk at the table. Fritz had a dangerous job.

"So Brenda," Henry started. "How was your day at work?"

"It was pretty normal. I advise teams that are investigating crimes and help the DA's figure out what to do next. We're debating on what to do with a robber."

"Why not just put him in jail?" asked Marcus.

"It's an odd case. He didn't actually want the money or steal anything that was valuable. He hated his house and wanted to move. He thought if there were neighborhood break-ins, his wife would get scared, and she'd want to move."

"He broke in and stole, so he could move?" Fritz found that rather odd.

"He mostly stole knick-knacks and moved a bunch of stuff around. The debate is whether we should just let him plead to criminal mischief and pay restitution and go on probation or actually go to trial."

"What do you think?" Henry asked her.

"It's a tough one. I don't want to show the world, hey rich thieves get a slap on the wrist and the poor ones go to jail. I also don't want to burden the city with the cost of a trial for someone who's unlikely to offend again, and I don't think society gains all that much by seeking a stiff jail sentence. He was unarmed, didn't hurt anyone, and really just sounds like a fool. Also, if it goes to trial, then we're diverting our resources from a more important case."

"Do you want to send a guy to jail just to make a 'we're tough on crime statement'?

"No. I don't."

Bobby sought a topic change. "Guess who has tickets to the Chargers game?"

"In San Diego?" Henry was beaming.

"Yes. Do you and Marcus want to come?"

"Yes!" Marcus yelled.

"Indoor voice," Molly reminded him.

Henry was all smiles.

"We're going to have to leave here early, so we can get through the traffic." Fritz started. "The game starts at 3PM."

Molly was glad to have an afternoon to rest.

The boys all started chatting about the game, about who their favorite players on the team were, about if they thought the Bills could win an upset. Brenda and Molly cleared the table.

Flynn's House

He had a rough day at work. He hated the way that Jeremy found out about his father. He hoped he did the right thing. He sat on the couch staring at the wall.

Andrea sat down next to him and rested her head on his chest. "Do you want to talk?"

He shook his head.

"Do you want me to sit with you?"

He nodded and scooped her into his arms.

Andrea turned on some slow jazz. They closed their eyes. The moment was bittersweet.

Sharon's House

Rusty eventually came out for dinner. He wasn't too hungry, but Kyle wanted him to eat something. Sharon had made dinner, but she couldn't even bring herself to eat it. "How could a father do something like that?" Rusty just didn't get it at all. He didn't even think his father would hire a hitman to get him.

"He was no father. He was an angry, bitter, greedy, selfish excuse for a man, who wanted nothing but revenge for the people he felt had wronged him." Sharon looked into Rusty's eyes. She saw sorrow.

Kyle continued. "Some people are good. Others are bad, but everyone wants to be seen favorably by others, regardless of what they really are. In his little mind, he convinced himself that everyone else was the bad guy to justify his own wickedness. You can't understand people like that Rusty. You're cut from a different cloth."

Rusty grabbed a bowl of chicken and rice and slowly ate.

"This case was hard for all of us," said Sharon. "No kid deserves this."

"What's going to happen to him now?"

"His cousin and his cousin's father took him with them for the night. He might move in with them. His grandfather might take him. Hopefully, he can stay with his family."

"I don't like that some people are so rotten."

"Some people are good too." Kyle said, rubbing his back.

"Kyle's one of them," Sharon added.

"So are you," Rusty told her as he leaned on Kyle.

Quinn's father's house

He sat at home with a beer and realized how ridiculous he had behaved. His daughter was with her mother. Her life was upended. Jeremy's life was in shambles and what did he have to show for it. He couldn't live like this anymore. Everything he touched fell apart. His wife was long gone. His daughter was gone. He resolved to go see someone about anger management in the morning. For now though, he drank and watched Thursday night football.

Eliza's Loft

Gabriel posed for a sculpture. She had him holding a discus, like an olympian. He didn't know what he was doing, but Eliza positioned him the way she wanted him. He was naked. The room was warm, so he wouldn't be chilly. Eliza etched a basic figure in the stone. She chiseled away as the figure morphed into David's likeness. It was time for a break.

She wrapped her arms around Gabriel and began to kiss him. He swept her into his arms and carried her down the stairs. He unbuttoned her shirt and began to kiss her chest. She moaned as his warm mouth found her nipple and began to tease it. Her hands found his hair, and she began to scratch his head. He started kissing her stomach, and he got her out of her jeans. He kissed her thighs and worked his way down to her feet. He began to suck on her toes and massage her foot. She leaned back, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

He worked his way back up to her inner thigh. He tore her panties off and picked her up. Grabbing onto her hips, he held her upside down and began to devour her. The blood rushed to her head and to her clit at the same time as gravity and David's mouth had their way with her. Her brain got scrambled for a minute. She found his erection in her face and began to suck him.

He was very strong, holding her steady as desire overtook both of them. His hands groped her ass as his tongue plunged into her wetness. It didn't take long for her to orgasm as he ravished her. He licked her clean, and she continued to suck and stroke him. He began rimming her, the sensation completely distracting her. He slipped out of her mouth as she groaned loudly. He lowered her to the floor and began kissing her up her spine.

He positioned her on her hands and knees and went into the bedroom. He found a bottle of lube and rubbed his erection liberally. He teased her hole with his slick fingers and then pressed into her. He was slow but firm, and her teeth clenched as he found his way insider of her. He began to kiss her neck and and she slowly relaxed for him. His hands found her hips, and he began to thrust. Slow and easy at first, he started going faster and deeper as she relaxed. She groaned and screamed as he had his way with her, plunging into her as she cursed. "FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

He loved watching his cock disappear into her as he fucked her ass. He was going to lose it soon if he stayed at this pace. He slowed down, almost to a stop. He would slowly pull out and then quickly plunged into her, eliciting loud grunts. She was very tight. It was hard for David not to lose it. Slowly, he built up speed again, and he began to fuck her. It wasn't long before she started cumming on the floor. He lied down on the floor, pulling her on top of him and continuing to thrust. She rode him aggressively, meeting each thrust and soon, he shot his load deep inside of her.

She rolled off of him and lied down next to him. Her head found his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her body.


	56. Friday Funday

Friday Morning

Kyle went for a run. Normally, he'd lift on Fridays, but the school was on lockdown until Monday. He ran through the park and tripped over what he thought was a tree root. He turned around and saw a lockbox. Kyle dug it out and was surprised to find it was full of weed. He looked around, saw nobody, and promptly ran off with it. He headed straight to his car and drove away.

10 minutes later, Mason came to dig out his stash. He was alarmed to find an empty hole where he had planned to dig. He looked around. All he saw was an middle-aged woman jogging. He was pissed, but there was nothing to do, so he left.

Kyle got to his house and went into his attack. He took a closer look at his prize. He smelled it, not the best of weed, but it was free. He decided he would turn them into brownies and got in the shower.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Prosecutor's Office

Andrea was at her computer, typing away, when someone knocked on her door.

"Come in."

Brenda walked in.

"Hey, Bren what's up?"

"Are you still looking to rent your house?"

"Yes, do you know anyone who's looking to rent?"

"Maybe."

"Does this person have a name?"

"Fritzi and I want to move into a house."

Andrea wasn't expecting that. "What's wrong with your apartment?"

"Too small. There's no room for Marcus."

"Marcus?"

"Fritz's son."

"Since when does he have a son."

"Since 2002, but we just found out about him on Wednesday."

"Where is he now?"

"I think he's on an FBI tour with his grandfather."

"His grandfather? I though Fritz's parents were …."

"Oh, they're dead. He was raised by his maternal grandparents."

Andrea thought this over. Business and friends is usually a bad idea, but they were unlikely to trash the place, would probably pay their rent, and might even buy the place if she were looking to sell. "Is there any reason you don't want to buy a house now?"

"We thought it would be faster to rent, so that Marcus could get situated, and we could buy a house later."

"Would you want to buy my house?"

"Are you looking to sell?"

"Not yet, but I might want to in a year or so."

"If you and Flynn tie the knot?"

"Brenda..."

"What! When's he going to put a ring on it?"

"This is coming from you, who stayed engaged for as long as possible to avoid getting married."

"Did not!"

"Sure you didn't! If things work out, I won't need a house anymore. I could include an option to buy in the lease."

"I'll talk to Fritzi."

"Good."

"One more thing. Fritzi and I already have furniture, but Bobby doesn't. Do you think he could rent it?"

"I don't see why not. He won't wreck it will he?"

"Oh no. He's housebroken."

They laughed, and Brenda was out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sharon's house

She and Rusty got ready for the morning. She dropped him off at school, and she went to work. When she got there, Mark was arguing with his grandfather's lawyer.

"It would be better if Jeremy went to live with his grandfather"

"You want to make him move across the country, so he can live with a stuffy old man who sleeps half the day."

"I will not listen to this."

"Then go home, alone."

Taylor shook his head. CPS doesn't know what to do with Jeremy. Mark wants him to come with him to San Bernardino. He thinks the kid has been through enough in LA and could use a new city.

"You're 22 years old. You think you can handle him."

"I have a job, a spare bedroom, and I can actually stay up at night, which is when he'll need supervision."

Taylor looked up. He had a point.

"It's a lot of responsibility."

"My dad lives in town. My aunts and uncles are in town. He'll have a lot of us."

Sharon had an idea. "Why don't you keep Jeremy in CA until school's done for the year? He can visit his grandfather for Christmas, and you can re-evaluate then."

"Like a trial period?"

"Yes."

The two men might actually agree on something.

Sharon was glad to get them both out of her squad room and talking to CPS. Sanchez came into work a bloody mess.

"Julio! What on earth happened to you?" Sharon was nervous. The last thing she needed was an FID violation.

"I was parking and walking to work when a woman stabbed her ex-boyfriend and ran off. I chased her and tackled her to the ground. His blood got all over me."

"Where is he?"

"On the way to the morgue. She cut right through his femoral artery. She got cuffed and taken to a psych ward. She kept babbling about the second coming and something to do with Babylon 5."

Sharon had a stunned look on her face. Her eyes got all big. A loud thud was heard. Buzz came in, blood all over his leg. He looked like a ghost. "Why didn't you save me Julio?" He collapsed on the floor.

_What the heck!_

"Happy Halloween Captain!" They brought out a pumpkin pie. Everyone was laughing.

She shook her head.

"I got you good," Sanchez told her.

"That you did."

Taylor came inside. "What are you all doing? Why is Buzz dead? Someone needs to clean this up." Then, he left.

Everyone bust out laughing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kyle's House

Kyle's parents went to work. He slow cooked some of the marijuana in butter and strained it through a cheesecloth. He did this three times, extracting as much as he could get. He made a batch of dark chocolate brownies and added some of the butter to his toast. He also made poached eggs, sausage patties and hash browns. This was going to be a good day.

He cracked open a beer and drank it.

Rusty's school

He had trouble focusing. He got through his first two classes, but he didn't want to stay there. His math teacher asked what was wrong with him. It was unlike him, but he admitted the school shooting got to him. He had friends at the school, one of them in that PE class. The teacher called the principal's office, saying he looked sick, so he could go for the day.

"Thanks Ms. Martin."

"Don't worry about it."

He called Kyle to pick him up. Kyle wasn't exactly fit to drive. He called his friends to drive to Kyle's house and then to get Rusty.

They showed up at about lunch time. Kyle got out of the car to pick up Rusty. He talked to the secretary "I'm here to pick up my cousin, Rusty. He's sick." She sent Rusty out. Kyle signed the form, and they left. Rusty could tell he was high. "You didn't drive did you?" he whispered.

"My friends drove." Kyle brought Rusty to the car to meet his friend. "This is Joe and Kevin."

"Hey Rusty."

"Sup Dude."

Rusty got in the back with Kyle. "Want a brownie?"

Rusty could smell the weed. He bit into it and chewed. It was very good, easily better than the ones Kyle bought from his friend earlier. "Where'd you get this?"

"I made them this morning."

"Am I dating Martha Stoner?"

"Oh Shut up!"

They drove to In and Out and got burgers. They got a bunch of 3x3s, a bag full of fries and shakes. Kevin's house was close, so they left Kyle's car there, and they walked to a nearby park. Kyle started to eat. John rolled a joint, lit it, around. They were all pretty toasted as they ate. Kyle was having a fit of laughter. He was really high. Rusty took a good look at Kevin and John. They were both very attractive. Kevin was redhead and John was blonde. They were both in good shape, Kevin was taller and more muscular. He had green eyes and short facial hare. John was clean-shaven and had blue eyes. The brownie's effects started to hit Rusty. His stomach got nice and warm. Kyle could see the way Rusty was eyeing his friends and his hand slipped to Rusty's crotch under the table.

"Why don't we head to my house?" Kevin suggested. They all walked back. Rusty got some water. Kyle took off his shirt. John found a brownie and started to eat it. Kevin started packing a bowl. He headed to the furnished attic. John followed and Kyle led Rusty. They each took hits from Kevin's bong. It was big. The long chamber allowed the smoke to cool down before it hit their lungs. John packed the next bowl. They were all pretty gone at this point. Rusty lied down, his mind obliterated. John and Kevin smiled at each other. They could both see the tent forming in Rusty's pants. John had very nimble fingers. He quickly unbuttoned Rusty's fly and unzipped his pants. Kevin pulled them off him.

"That's …." was all that Rusty managed to say as John started to suck him. "OH GOD YES!" Rusty screamed in his head, but it came out like a muttering.

Kyle and Kevin started making out. Kevin made quick work of Kyle's pants and boxers. Soon enough, they were both naked. The four young men arranged themselves in a square, each of them sucking another. John grabbed a box of condoms and a bottle of lube. He and Kevin spent a lot of time up there. It didn't take long for Kevin to find his way into Rusty. Rusty started to ride him. John started sucking Rusty, and Kyle started to rim John.

Kevin was an aggressive top. Rusty loved every second of it. He was riding an Irish god. John was great with his mouth. He ran his hands threw John's hair. It wasn't long before Rusty shot his load into John's eager mouth.

John got Kyle on his hands and knees and began to fuck body high was hitting Kyle pretty hard. He grunted and groaned as John took him.

Kevin put Rusty on the floor and put one of his legs over his shoulder. He grabbed Rusty's hips and pulled on them as he pounded. Rusty found Kyle's dick and began to suck it. It wasn't long before they were in a daisy chain: Kevin then Rusty then John then Kyle.

They fucked in a line. Kevin lost it and shot his load all over Rusty. Then there were three. Kyle started cumming all over the floor and John kept banging him. Soon, John was out too. Rusty straddled John and shot his load all over his face.

The four collapsed on the ground. They eventually took showers. Kyle looked at the clock. Sharon would be expecting him home. Kevin drove Rusty home. Kyle and John took a nap.

They were quiet most of the ride home. Rusty showed him the house. "Here it is."

Kevin pulled into the driveway. "See you later Rusty." Kevin drove home.

Rusty smiled and went inside.

Sharon was already home. "Who's car was that?"

"That was Kevin. He gave me a ride home."

"I would have gotten you."

"No problem." Rusty threw his backpack in his room. He turned on his laptop and started to watch Fantasia.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

FBI

Kyle thought this place was awesome. His dad was so cool. Henry was pretty impressed as well. After their tour, they were supposed to go to the lobby and wait. Marcus found a side staircase and snuck up it. "Marcus!" Henry hissed before he followed him.

Marcus tiptoed up the stairs. He remembered that his father worked on the fourth floor. He started to explore. There were lots of rooms, pictures and plaques on the walls, computers everywhere and lots of people typing in a frenzy. He heard his father's voice and began to follow it.

"What did she say?" he said into the phone.

"She might want to sell it at some point. Where would we go then?"

"She's willing to sell us an option. How much?"

"She didn't say. I'm going to do some research."

"Bye honey."

Marcus knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Marcus opened it and walked in.

"Marcus! How'd you get up here?"

"I'm a ninja. I used by astute skills of observation to find you."

"It must run in the family. I'm almost done here. Wanna grab lunch?"

"Yeah. Can we bring grandpa?"

"Of course. Where'd he go."

Henry was wondering around. He had no idea where Marcus went. He wondered down the hall and saw ADA Baldwin. "Have you seen my grandson?"

"No. Why would he be here?"

"I don't know. He ran up the stairs and disappeared."

"Grandpa! Marcus yelled."

"Oh there he is." Henry walked away

"You're going to get us in trouble," Henry warned.

"Dad's office is right down the hall."


	57. Happy Halloween

Friday Night

Flynn and Andrea were volunteering at the haunted house. Flynn was a zombie and Andrea was giving out snacks. The house was a safe place for kids to play on halloween, a night known for mischief, particularly in the seedier neighborhoods. The kids were having a blast, running, jumping spooking each other and eating cookies. The parents wandered about, some of them watching their kids, many of them not. They had plenty of monitors to make sure the kids played safely.

Flynn snuck up behind this one woman and spooked her. She responded by hitting him with her purse, chasing him throughout the house. Andrea saw him and started cracking up.

Brenda and Fritz arrived with Marcus. The grandparents were hanging out in the lounge. Marcus snuck up behind this little girl and spooked her. She thought it was funny. He tickled her, and then he went on to play with some of the older kids. He was having lots of fun. He hadn't played with any kids since he came to LA. He hadn't been enrolled in school yet.

Fritz tried to sneak up on Brenda, but she knew it was him. She turned around, and they shared a quick kiss.

"We need to get Marcus into a school," Brenda told him.

"I know. I looked up Andrea's house. It's in a good school district."

"Is that a yes?"

"It's a maybe. I want to see more about the proposed terms."

"Speaking of the devil." ANdrea walked by with cookies.

Brenda took one and bit down. "Pumpkin, yummy!"

"Those are for the kids," Andrea laughed. "Any treats for grownups?" Brenda asked.

"You didn't hear it from me, but there's rum punch in the staff's tent."

Brenda was off. Fritz laughed and shook his head. "Why would you tell her that?"

"Cause I'm just plain no good."

"Good to know."

"Brenda asked about the house. Did you want to talk about it on Monday?"

"Sure. Lunch."

"I can do that."

"Good."

Brenda came back and stole another cookie.

Sharon's House

Sharon was cooking dinner. Bobby would be coming over soon. Rusty fell asleep in his chair. He woke up and stumbled into the kitchen. He came into the kitchen, mumbled something, and went to get some milk.

He drank his milk. Whatever she was cooking smelled really good. She probably has a date with her cowboy lover. "Bobby coming over tonight?"

"Yes."

"I can skedaddle if you want."

"No need. You're welcome to dinner."

"I don't want to be a third wheel, and I assume Bobby would rather just eat with you."

"Oh Stop! I hardly see you as it is anyway."

"What?"

"If you're not in school or in your room, your with Kyle."

"We've have been seeing a lot of each other," Rusty admitted.

"How is that going?"

"It's going great." Rusty wanted to spare her the details.

"How come you're not with him now?"

"I think he's asleep."

"Do you want to help cook?"

"Sure, what do I do?"

Can you cut up these potatoes? I'm going to roast them.

"Sure."

They got to work.

Eliza's Loft

She and Gabriel were watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. Well, Eliza was watching. David fell asleep. At least, he didn't snore. Eliza ate popcorn and enjoyed the show.

The park

Bobby took Hunter for a walk. She loved to sniff the grass and bark at passers by. Hr took her home and gave her some water. Then, he took a shower and shaved his face. He got dressed and drove to Sharon's house.

He knocked on the door. Rusty opened it and Bobby could instantly smell steak. "That smells great."

"It's Calvin Klein. Also, Sharon's in the next room." Rusty ribbed.

"I meant the steak."

"Sure you did."

Bobby came inside. His girlfriend was plating the food. She was wearing an apron that said "Kiss the Chef." He did just that.

"Hey, Bobby."

"Dinner's ready."

"Great." He kissed her again. Rusty shook his head.

They ate rib-eye, roasted potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, and onions. Sharon had a glass of wine, Bobby a beer and Rusty had soda.

"So how's school champ?"

"It goes, oh so slowly."

"That's high school for you. I couldn't wait to leave."

"Really, I bet you were popular."

"I was. The popular thing to do was ditch and smoke cigarettes in the back. I was getting written up every week. My senior year, they ran out of detentions for me, so I had to do extra work."

Rusty laughed. "I haven't had that kind of trouble."

"Brenda was worse. She didn't go to her afternoon classes every day for a month. One day, the principal called Mama. She followed Brenda after lunch to see where she went. She had this high school dropout boyfriend, and she would ride around on the back of his motorcycle. Mama was so mad."

"She ditched for a whole month." Rusty couldn't believe it.

"She still was summa cum laude. That's how bad out high school was."

Rusty and Sharon laughed at that. "I can't see know it all Brenda skipping school."

"She was a good girl who liked bad boys."

"I could see that," Sharon stated.

"Anyway, Mama made Brenda go to summer school, even though she didn't actually fail anything. Brenda hated it. She had to spend her summer with all the dumb kids, and the teachers who were too boring to go away for the summer."

"Sharon," Rusty started. "How was your high school experience?"

"I wasn't very popular. I did my homework, went to class, didn't help people cheat on my tests. I wasn't so unpopular, just kind of a wallflower."

"You've always loved rules."

"It's just easier to follow them."

"I hate rules," said Bobby. "I do what I want."

"I bet that runs in the family."

"So does having a sweet tooth." He kissed her.

Rusty shook his head.

Washington, DC

Charlie was a Victoria Secret's Angel for halloween. She wore angel wings and a lacy green bra and studded black jeans. She and her boyfriend went to a party. She and her girlfriends were dancing. A boy started a casual conversation. Her boyfriend was clearly annoyed. Charlie was polite, but she cut the conversation a short. She asked her boyfriend if he would get her a drink.

"Why, so you can flirt with that guy?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw the way he was looking at you."

"I wasn't looking at him that way, and he was just making conversation."

"Sure he was."

Charlie got her own drink. She was not in the mood.

She came back and her friends asked her if she was okay. "I'm fine. It's just, he's not normally like this."

"How do you expect this to work when you're in LA?"

"I don't know." She sipped her mediocre beer.

Dave's Fish and Chips

The family sat in a booth. Marcus was in between his grandparents and opposite his father and stepmother. Henry got a beer. Brenda a soda. She had plenty of rum at the haunted house. Molly got some wine. Fritz got cranberry juice and Marcus got a classic, chocolate milk.

They started with a basket of wings for their appetizer. They got mild. "Have you found a house yet?" Henry asked them.

"We have a meeting on Monday."

Brenda didn't know that. Maybe he told her, and she wasn't listening. SHe didn't think so.

"Marcus needs to go to school, sometime." Molly mentioned.

"No I don't." said Marcus.

"We'll get him settled soon," assured Brenda.

They started with wings. They were nice and juicy. They came with celery and blue cheese. Brenda punted on the cheese, so did Marcus

They continued to chat about the haunted house and life in LA. Molly had a lot of questions. She was more talkative today. She was slowly accepting that she and Henry would be flying home without their baby.

Their platters came. Marcus got the kid's portion, so did Molly. Everyone else got full platters. Brenda got the garlic aioli dipping sauce. "So good."

"What's aioli?" Marcus asked her.

"It's a mixture of mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice and whatever flavor you want to add."

"Can I try some?"

Brenda handed him the little cup.

"It's fatty. I like it."

Fritz was happy to see that they got along so well. He kissed his wife on the cheek.

Sharon's House

"Brenda and Fritz are looking for a house," Bobby mentioned.

"Really. What's wrong with their apartment?"

"No room for Marcus."

"Who?"

"Did I not tell you? Fritz has a son."

Sharon and Rusty both spit out their drinks. "What?"

"He came on a plane with his grandparents on Wednesday."

"Where has he been all this time?"

"Chicago. His ex never told him."

"You ever worry about that?" Rusty asked him.

"About what."

"About getting a mystery child one day."

"No, but you never know."

Rusty looked at Sharon. "I never had any secret children."

"Just wondering."

"I forgot where I was going with this. I need to figure out where I'm going to live."

"Why don't you live here?" suggested Rusty.

"What!" said Sharon.

"You practically live here anyway. Sharon doesn't sleep when you're not here."

"I do too."

"I can hear you in the living room watching late night tv."

"You can?"

"I have a dog." Sharon admitted.

"This sounds like a great idea," said Rusty.

"You don't think it's a little fast."

"It's really fast, but it might be fun."

"I might need some earplugs," said Rusty.

Sharon gave him a look.

Bobby laughed. "We could try foam padding the walls, or use a ball-gag.."

"Bobby!"

Rusty and Bobby gave each other high fives. "Just teasing."

"Men!"

Rene's Bistro

Mikki and Katie were eating dinner. Mikki was a little nervous. She hadn't been on a proper date in a while. She hoped that Katie liked this place. It was fancier than she was used to.

Mikki looked at the menu. She didn't recognize half of it. "What do you think?"

"It looks really nice, but honestly, I would have been fine with something simple like tacos."

"Really?"

"I'm not really into fancy stuff."

"But you work in a theater with a lot of famous people."

"And when I get home, I put on sweatpants, a t-shirt and watch crappy tv."

"Me too!"

"Wanna blow this popsicle joint."

"Hell yeah!" The two women promptly took off in search of some tacos.

They found a takeout place and brought home a bag full of tacos. Mikki promptly took off her dress and put on a t-shirt. She got one for Katie and they began to chow down as they watched E!

"I feel much better now," Mikki said.

"Me too. It was nice though, that you wanted to impress me, but I like you just as you are."

Mikki kissed her. It was a little crunchy. They both laughed.

"Maybe more of that after dinner."

Amanda Bynes got arrested again. What ever happened to her? She went from normal to Lindsay in like 1 week.

.


	58. Romp Around

Mikki's Apartment

She and Katie drank beers and snuggled on the couch. After a while, Katie turned off the tv. She looked at Mikki and kissed her. Mikki's arms found Katie's back as she returned the kiss.

Katie straddled her and Mikki's hands dropped to Katie's ass. It wasn't long until Katie's hands were under Mikki's shirt. She found her breasts and began to rub them through her bra. MIkki's lips found her neck.

It wasn't long before their clothes were off. Mikki picked up her lover and carried her into the bedroom.

They started teasing each other with their fingers, slowly tracing along the other's outer folds. Katie plunged first, slowly pushing her finger inside of Mikki. Mikki returned the favor, and they mirrored each other. Eventually, their fingers got replaced with tongues, and they got to work."

Katie was shy in public, but she was an aggressive lover. She wanted Mikki to cum hard in her mouth she knew exactly what she needed to do. Her tongue widened as it explored ,and she used her fingers to rub her clit. Mikki was trying to keep up but Katie felt too good. She was very distracting.

Katie got her wish. Mikki lost control and started thrashing as she had an orgasm. Katie licked her clean then she flipped Mikki, so she was on her hands and knees and began to rim her. Mikki growled and groaned. Katie started to fuck her with her fingers. Mikki rode her hand until she was cumming again. She fell forward on the bed.

Katie was happy with her work. She straddled Mikki and gave her a kiss. Mikki needed to catch her breath. "You're something else." Katie kissed her again and grinned.

Sharon's House

Rusty headed to his room. Bobby and Sharon talked on the couch.

"Do you want me to move in with you?"

"I haven't lived with a man in a long time. I also can be stubborn and a neat freak and bossy."

"I know all that."

"What if you don't like me anymore?"

"Not going to happen." He kissed her.

"I do sleep better when you're here."

"That's good."

"And I do have a yard, so Hunter can play."

"That's good too."

"And I find myself falling for you."

"Now that's the best thing I've heard all day." They kissed and he pulled her into his arms.

The Haunted House

Their shift just ended. Andrea and Flynn packed up and headed home. Flynn got in the shower to wash the makeup off. Andrea hopped in and began to wash him. They kissed and groped each other and then fell out of the shower. They dried each other off and made it to the bedroom.

He pulled her into bed. She let him guide her body and he positioned her as he wanted her. His lips found hers and they began to kiss. His hands were soft as his mouth was rough, and he managed to touch her all over. He pushed his fingers into her wet folds, and she began to beg for him.

He moved deliberately as she tried to buck against him. He gradually built her up and got her to the edge of losing it. He kept her oscillating around that line for a few minutes. He stopped, and she looked at him, her blue eyes darkening and full of lust. He grinned and pulled her hips towards him. She followed his lead and began to ride him. He leaned back. She rested her hands on his shoulders and got to work.

Brenda/Fritz

Brenda and Fritz got home. Hunter was waiting at the door. Joel was asleep. The floor was covered in yarn. They got to playing while they were home alone. Brenda took Hunter outside. Fritz started to pick up Joel's mess.

When Brenda returned, Fritz was sitting on the couch. She sat across from him. "What's wrong?"

"I just want this all to work."

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Marcus is already 11. He's more than half grown, and he barely knows me."

"Marcus has plenty of growing up to do. He'll be a teenager soon, and he'll need you more than ever, even if he doesn't think he does. Also, Marcus is a great kid. He's smart, and sweet and thoughtful. He reminds of me of a man."

"Really, who?"

"John Francis Daley."

"Thanks, Brenda."

"I'm just teasing. He's definitely his father's son, and instead of worrying, you should spend this time we do have and get to know Marcus. You'll have plenty of time on Sunday."

"You're right."

"Of course I'm right. Now, shut up and kiss me."

Mikki's Place

Mikki donned her strap-on, and Katie rode her intently. She kissed Mikki roughly and stayed focus. She had great hip control, and she was ready to have a lot of fun. Mikki loved watching Katie's curls bounce as they fucked. Mikki's hands travelled up Katie's sides, and her hands found Katie's nipples. She started to pinch and tug on them as Katie squealed.

Katie's hands found her clit, and she started to rub furiously until she was cumming. Mikki flipped her over and began to pound her. They fucked all night, missionary, doggie style, spooning. The positions kept changing. Katie found a double-ended dildo in Mikki's collection, and they rode it together.

Eventually, they collapsed from exhaustion and went to bed.


	59. Moving Time

Saturday

Bobby and Sharon woke up after a night of cuddling. He woke her up with a kiss. She kissed him back, and their morning kisses turned into a morning fuck.

Rusty was half awake. He rolled over and went back to bed.

Flynn's House

Andrea and Flynn woke up in each other's arms. They cuddled for a while, neither of them wanting to break the embrace long enough to wake up.

The Farmers' Market

Eliza and David were buying food together. Gabriel usually just went to grocery stores, but Eliza said the food here was fresher. They got locally grown produce, organic eggs, grass-fed beef, and fresh fish. When they got back to the loft, Eliza washed the fish and the produce. She let the produce air dry on the counter and she wrapped the fish in parchment paper. She froze some of it and some of the beef. She put the rest of the food in the fridge.

David poached some eggs and made some bacon. He put some english muffins in the toaster. He made open-faced sandwiches. Eliza poured some juice and they are together.

"My friend Riley's coming over today. He's going to take some measurements for the dressers."

He made her dressers and she wanted to have new ones made for Gabriel.

Brenda and Fritz

They spent the morning doing chores, laundry, cleaning, etc. Marcus and his grandparents were going to the zoo. They were heading back to Chicago on Tuesday. Brenda wanted them to have another Saturday together before they went.

Bobby came home, eventually. He took Hunter for a walk. He then came back, and said he was going to move in with Sharon.

"She's willing to put up with you," said Fritz.

"I know, right."

The Zoo

Marcus loved the penguins. He took several pictures of them. The fathers watched the babies and the mothers chased them jealously.

Molly was almost finished with her photo album. She was going to do the last touches on Sunday, while the boys were gone. She hoped that Marcus loved it.

Sunday

The Hotel

Marcus was excited to be going to the game. It was a two hour drive to San Diego and the game started at at 4:15.

He and his grandfather got ready. Fritz and Bobby picked them up at the hotel, and they were all off. Fritz was driving. Bobby planned on having plenty of beer. They stopped at In and Out along the way.

Molly printed out the photos Marcus took at a CVS. She added them to the end of the book. She included many blank sheets, so Marcus could add to the album.

Brenda/Fritz's place

Brenda was trying to figure out what to do with the apartment. Their lease was over in three months. The should tell the landlord now that they won't be renewing. She got ready to start typing a letter when the doorbell rang. She looked and saw the upstairs neighbor at her door.

"Hi Mrs. Traynor. What can I do for you?"

"Have you had your apartment inspected?"

"No. Why would we?"

"Our landlord should have told you. The apartment upstairs had a broken shower. They went to replace it, and there was black mold behind the walls. They need to check all of the apartments."

"Oh my!"

"You might need to move out for a while if they find anything."

Brenda was relieved. She had a way out of her lease. "That's too bad."

I brought the information here. The woman handed Brenda a packet. "You should get right on it."

"Oh we will. Thank you for stopping by."

The woman left. Brenda left the forms for Fritz to read. She was craving a nap.

The Q

There was a big line, but they got through before the game started. They found their seats. They were a little high up, but they had a great vantage point. The crowd was loud. The day was nice and sunny. Bobby had plenty of beer. This was going to be quite a game.

It was a real shootout. Neither defense seemed ready to go and both teams were throwing the ball downfield with ease. San Diego pulled away in the third quarter, and the rest was history. Bobby went through a lot of beers. They cut him off, but then Henry started to buy them. They got pretty drunk.

Fritz and Marcus focused on the game and Bobby and Henry argued with some group behind them as to who was better, Phillip Rivers or Sam Bradford.

They got in the car and headed home. Marcus fell asleep in the back as did Bobby.

They dropped off Marcus and Henry at the hotel. Bobby slept all the way home. Fritz pulled into the parking space and roused Bobby. "Let's go, Bobby!"

"What happened to the game!"

"It ended 2 hours ago."

"Damn, that was fast." They headed inside. Brenda ordered pizza. Drunk Bobby began to devour it. "Save some for Fritz." Brenda grabbed a plate and put two slices on it for her husband. "You hungry Fritz?"

"Thanks, Babe." They sat on the couch. "What do you want to do about the apartment?"

"I almost forgot. Mrs. Traynor stopped by. There might be mold in the apartment. We might have to evacuate."

"What!"

"Isn't that great?"

"How is toxic mold great?"

"We can break our lease and not have to pay."

Fritz laughed. "You worry about rent more than our health."

"We haven't gotten sick yet."

He kissed her and went to heat up his food.

Monday

Gabriel had to stop by his apartment for more clothes again. He couldn't wait for Riley to finish those dressers. He was also going to build a closet for David. Gabriel checked his mail, nothing of interest, and went to work.

Rusty's School

He actually got his work done and made it to class on time. He hadn't heard from Kyle all weekend. He was surprised to see Kyle at his school.

"Why aren't you in class?"

"The grief counselor is there giving a school wide presentation. I decided to ditch."

"Where were you all weekend?"

"Doing college apps. They were due today."

"I forgot about that."

"Well, we should hang out this weekend." Kyle kissed him and then he left.

Fritz, Brenda and Andrea met at an indian buffet for lunch.

Fritz started the conversation. "You have a beautiful house."

"Thank you."

"I am a little nervous about renting from a friend though."

"I thought about that too. We would have to negotiate this carefully. How long do you plan on renting a house?"

"We want to get Marcus settled. We would probably stay for at least a year, probably until Marcus finished middle school."

"What grade is he in now?"

"6th."

"Are you looking to sell the house?"

"Not yet. I wasn't sure if ..."

"You and Flynn will work."

"Brenda!"

"What! Everyone gets nervous about it when they first move in."

"I didn't."

"That's because you're a fool. It's also why I love you." They shared a quick kiss. "If you did want to sell though, we would prefer the new owner to assume the lease until it was over."

"Of course. I could also include an option."

"How would that work?"

"If I decided to sell, you would have the option to pay some predetermined price before I put the house on the market."

"We would pick the number now?"

"Or it would be a formula, but we would decide how we would pick now."

"What about repairs?"

"Tell me when stuff is broken. I'll send someone to fix it."

"Do you think you'd make a good landlord?"

"I'd hope I can be better than any of the landlords I have had. Honestly, if you pay your rent and don't burn the place down, I'll be content."

"Insurance?"

"You should get renter's insurance for your property and liability insurance if one of your guests gets injured. I have insurance for the house and my property, but it doesn't cover commercial uses."

"Security deposit?"

"Same as the rent. Would be held in escrow until the lease terminated. Would be applied to any damage or missed payments."

"Painting."

"I haven't painted it in a while. You are free to paint, but if you use outlandish colors, I'll expect you to repaint when you leave."

"I was thinking strawberry jam, every room," Brenda announced. They both looked at her.

"What! Y'all can't take a joke."

"Air conditioning?"

"Central Air."

"Gas or electric stove."

"All gas appliances. The fridge is two years old. The washer and dryer are 4 years old. There's a deep freezer in the garage."

"Walkthrough."

"Here's the key."

Monday night.

Henry and Molly dropped off Marcus at the apartment. She gave him his photo album. Tears fell from his face as he flipped through it and saw his life unfold. He hugged her tightly and told her it was the greatest present ever. That meant a lot to her, knowing all of the presents he has gotten in his life. They left their grandson with his father. They both cried when they got back to the hotel. They knew he belonged here, but the pain didn't fade at all.

Brenda and Fritz ended up moving into Andrea's house within the next week. Marcus got his own room and he helped his father paint it dark green. Brenda got him a stationary set, so he could write to his grandparents. They were boxing some of his stuff and having it sent to LA. Some of it would stay in Chicago for when he visited. They all planned a family trip to Chicago for New Years.

Bobby moved in with Sharon. He saw a perfect spot in her backyard for a smoker. He was ready for some BBQ.


	60. Family Formation

Monday

Marcus was enrolled in school the week before. Football season was almost over, but he's only in sixth grade, so they let all the kids play. Marcus is actually pretty good. He played strong safety in Chicago and resumed the position in LA. His job was to cover the eligible pass receivers. Right now, it was time to scrimmage. They had a game on Saturday.

Tyler Pope was the quarterback. He lined up a pass for his wide receiver. The pass was on target but Marcus outmuscled the receiver and took the ball. The coach blew the whistle, ending the play.

"Again! This time, run your route like you mean it."

The receiver sighed and tried again. Marcus was fast and had good timing.

Tyler threw the same pass. Marcus knocked it from the receiver's hands into the ground.

"I had it first," the player complained.

"You didn't hold on!" the coach answered. "Next play." They went on to practice with players on the other side of the field.

"Marcus, could you come here for a minute." The coach beckoned him. He came running.

"Yes, Coach!"

"You're pretty good. How long have you been playing?"

"My grandpa signed me up when I was 5."

"You play any other positions."

"I used to play quarterback. I switched when our safety broke his foot."

"They're not too many spots on varsity next year. We have a lot of rising eighth graders, but I think you have a knack for this game. I want you to meet the varsity coach. Do you have any time after school tomorrow?"

"Yes sir."

"Again!" the coach yelled. Tyler sighed. He was having trouble getting his offense to perform.

"They don't run through the passes," Marcus commented.

"What?" said the coach.

"They get to the end of their route and stop, makes it easy for the defender to catch up to them and break up the pass. If they kept running and Tyler picked a point along the way, they would have a much higher likelihood of success."

Marcus was right. The coach knew it. "Hey, keep running through your passes."

The players looked at him. Wtf does that even mean?

Tyler, throw Marcus the ball. Marcus ran to it, grabbed it and changed directions. He ran a smooth route.

"That's what I want to see. Keep running. Don't stop where you expect the ball."

It took a few tries. Tyler had to start adjusting his passes, but the offense got smoother. Marcus went for another pass. The receiver caught it, but Marcus tackled him before he could get any extra yards.

Sharon's house

Bobby picked up Rusty from school, and they came home with a smoker. He was setting it up in the backyard.

Rusty watched him, having no idea what a smoker was. "You need any help out there."

"If you could bring me a beer, that would be great."

Rusty could do that. He came back with a cold one and handed it to Bobby.

"Thanks dude." Bobby started to chug.

"How does this thing work?"

Bobby showed him. "You put the charcoal here and light it. You soak your wood chips, hickory, maple whatever you want to use in water and put them on top. The coal will turn the wood into smoke which will cook the meat that you put up here on the grate. The smoke will cook the meat slowly over a long time and the flavor from the wood will get into the meat."

"Is that how you made that food at the office party? It was really good."

"Yeah, and now we can make all kinds of stuff: beef jerky, smoked salmon, you name it, we can smoke it."

Rusty laughed. "That sounds awesome. Can we use it today?"

"We have to get some meat first and brine it and then we can get right to it. I was going to go to the butcher tomorrow morning. Wanna come with?"

"Sure."

"For now, beer." Bobby continued to chug. "If you don't tell Sharon, you can have one."

"Really?"

"Why not."

Rusty grabbed a beer and poured it into a cup, in case Sharon came back early.

Flynn's House

Andrea and Flynn made sandwiches for dinner. Tonight, it was portabello mushrooms with poached eggs and pesto on sourdough. Andrea was getting used to vegetarian food. She was eating healthier and actually felt pretty good. She couldn't wait until Christmas, though. Her daddy's brisket was divine. She planned to go to the store and make some vegetarian food. Her mother had a way of adding bacon to everything.

Flynn made a side salad with frisee, kale, arugula, walnuts, goat cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

They sat down to eat. "How come you became a vegetarian?"

"I gained a bit a weight from my drinking days. It wasn't just the booze. A lot of it was the bar food I ate, wings, burgers, chili dogs. When I stopped drinking, I needed a new diet. Vegetarianism kind of stuck. Do you miss eating meat?"

"Not really. I did at first, but I like the food we eat. I also like the money I save. Produce is cheaper. This sandwich is really good." She bit down, getting egg yoke all over her plate.

They talked and ate. They were having Thanksgiving Dinner with his kids and his ex-wife. This was going to be interesting.

Brenda and Fritz

Brenda got a plane ticket for Marcus to come to Florida with them. She hoped he would have fun. Her family could be a bit much. On the bright side, it's a great excuse to stay in a hotel.

She found a room for them with two beds. It was near Clay's house.

The door turned. It was Marcus. He came in through the door. He had carpooled.

"Hey Marcus. How was school?"

"It was good. I had a good practice today."

"That's great. He went into the bathroom and took a shower."

Brenda missed Bobby's cooking, good thing he was having a barbeque on Saturday. She was making chicken thighs and roasted potatoes for dinner. The doorknob turned again.

Fritz came inside. "Hey, honey." He set down his briefcase and greeted his wife with a kiss. "Smells good."

"Hi, Fritz. It's almost ready."

"Since when did I marry Donna Reed?"

"Oh hush."

Fritz opened the fridge and grabbed a soda.

"Don't spoil your appetite."

"Yes, Mom!" He smirked at her.

Marcus came into the room. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey Marcus. How was your day?"

"It was good. The coach wants me to stay after school and meet the varsity coach tomorrow. He thinks I have a chance at getting a starting spot next year."

"That's great."

"Will we meet him on Saturday?" Brenda was excited to go to his game. She's watched all of her brother's games as a kid. She loved it.

"Maybe after the game. He'll be busy during it."

"Bobby's having a BBQ afterwards."

"Yes!" Marcus loved the sound of meat.

"Should we bring something?" Fritz didn't want to be a crummy guest.

"I'll call him and ask. He likes to plan his menus."

The timer went off. Brenda took the chicken out, and put it on wire racks to rest. The potatoes needed more time. She took out a wedge of butter and rubbed the chicken. She sprinkled on a little salt and pepper. Marcus set the table, and Fritz washed his hands. He poured a drink for everyone, water for himself, milk for Marcus and iced tea for Brenda. Brenda took out the potatoes and added some rosemary butter. She added a little salt. Then, she plated the food.

They sat down and ate.

"This is good," Marcus said. "The skin is crispy."

"I'm glad you like it."

Fritz was surprised Brenda learned to cook. He should have invited Bobby to California years ago.

"How was work?" Marcus was looking at his dad when he asked the question.

Fritz answered first. "We got a lead on a case. We're sending a team to Montreal to check it out."

"Cool! Are you going?"

"Not on this one, but I might be going later. This is going to be a long investigation."

"How come?"

"It's a large operation. They're exchanging drugs from Canada to Mexico and back. They're going through a lot of city and a lot of people. We need to figure out every link in the chain because if we catch only one guy, all the guys who know him will run and we'll lose any advantage that we have.

"Sounds like a big job."

"There's a lot of guys on this case. How was your day, Brenda?"

"We finally settled that home break-in case."

"Did he go to jail?"

"No. He has to pay a fine and restitution, serve probation, go to counseling, and do 500 hours of community service."

"How is this a punishment?" Marcus was confused.

"We don't have enough room to stick everyone in jail," Fritz added. "We reserve that for the worst offenders."

"Why don't we just build more jails?"

"The government has limited money. Every dollar we spend running jails is a dollar less for something else, like running schools, parks, giving grants, scholarships, etc. All the money comes from one pot."

"So sending people to jail is bad?"

"It's not bad. Some people should be there. It would just be better if people stopped being bad."

"I don't want to go to jail. It sounds like no fun."

"It isn't." Brenda answered a little too quickly. Fritz looked at her, but she looked down at her plate. She hadn't told him this, but she and Eileen got arrested in Amsterdam when she was with the CIA. They had assumed names, so her record was clean, but it still sucked.

"We should get you a bike." Fritz was ready to change the subject.

"Can we go on Friday after school?"

"I don't see why not."

Fritz needed to get a bike for himself, so he could ride with Marcus.

Brenda would just as well leave them to it. She was all good with being a couch potato.

They just finished dinner when the phone rang.

"Hello, Charlie what is it."

"I just broke up with my boyfriend."

"I'm sorry. What happened?"

"We went to a party, and this guy just started talking to me. It was totally casual. My boyfriend got mad and started yelling. I went to another room to let him chill out, but he was just mad all night. I thought he would cool down, but he ignored my texts all weekend. I finally see him today, and he had hickeys all over his neck."

"That's terrible."

"The worst part was, he tried to blame me. Apparently, my leaving stressed him out so much that he ended up in some whore's room."

"Charlie, don't blame her. She probably didn't even know about you."

"Oh yes she did. She invited us to the party."

"This was still his fault."

"I know. It just sucks. I mean I was nervous about how things would work long distance too, but I didn't think it would just explode before I even left. Now, he wants the money that he gave me that he now claims were loans."

"Money?"

"It was stupid stuff like we took a bus trip to NY, and he put stuff on his credit card. It was months ago, and he never said anything about paying him back."

"He's probably just bitter."

"Tell me about it."

"Weren't you having trouble with him before."

"Yeah, so."

"So, you found out he was a louse and cut him loose relatively unscathed. This hurts. I know it does, but you're not in debt or pregnant. You will be just fine and you're much better off without him. There are plenty of fish in the sea and soon enough, you'll be in LA for a whole semester. You'll have the opportunity to make all kinds of new friends."

"You're right. I am excited about it."

"December will be here before you know it, and you won't be back at Georgetown until September."

"You're right. Thanks Aunt Brenda."

"You're welcome, and I'll see you soon."

"Who was that?" Marcus asked her.

"That was my niece, Charlie."

"What went wrong?" Fritz asked her.

"She broke up with her boyfriend."

"That's too bad."

"Will we see her at Thanksgiving?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know. She might be visiting her mother."

"Her mother's not coming."

"She and my brother split up." Brenda skipped the story; he was only 11.

"Is her father, Bobby?"

"Yes, he is."

"Is he coming to Thanksgiving?"

"I think he's staying with Sharon."

"Who's Sharon?"

"His girlfriend."

Sharon's House

Sharon called and said she'd be running late. An accountant and his client were both in the hospital after a violent altercation, and they both claimed the other was the aggressor. This accountant represented a lot of celebrities, and the client's dad was some hotshot, so it was a hot mess. They both had expensive lawyers demanding justice. She wanted to go home and leave them as she found them.

Rusty and Bobby drank beer and grilled. "I could go for some bud," Bobby said.

"You have plenty in the fridge."

"I meant the other kind. My back feels like crap."

"What's wrong with it?"

"A lifetime of construction work. The doctor's say there's nothing to fix. I used to go to chiropractor, but it's a waste of money."

"Promise not to tell Sharon."

"What do you think I am, suicidal?"

"Let's go." Rusty showed Bobby his secret stash. Bobby tried to pay him, but Rusty said not to worry about it. Rusty didn't know how to roll. He left that to Kyle.

Bobby took a paper and rolled one. He clearly had a lot of practice. "Where do we go?"

"Kyle usually just drives some where."

"I think there is a park nearby." They headed out About three blocks away, there was an empty park. Bobby took out his lighter and lit it. They smoked by the swings. Rusty kept his eyes peeled, but no one came.

"Outside makes me nervous," Rusty admitted. "I wish there wasn't a smell. Then, we could just stay inside."

"In Atlanta, my buddies and I had a little warehouse that we turned into a loft. Rent was cheap, especially between all of us, and we could just smoke there whenever."

"Sounds nice."

"It was. We should head back now."

"hey walked back home and did a breath check. Rusty changed his shirt. Bobby just went with fabreeze. "She's a cop you know."

Bobby changed his shirt.


	61. Provenza in Action

The week went on pretty normally. Both the accountant and his client went to jail, the accountant for embezzlement, and the client for aggravated assault. The media was having a field day. Lots of celebrities were making support statements for the defendants. Taylor was exhausted. Sharon stopped caring what the media had to say about it.

Sharon was ready to go home. She did not want to stay for this mess.

Provenza was reading the paper. Flynn was just waiting until 5. He was having dinner with his daughter. She wanted to introduce him and Andrea to her new beau. Hopefully, he was better than the last one. He had to write a warrant for him when he refused to give her back her dog. Little did he know, the warrant was fake.

Tao was taking his wife to the theatre.

Sanchez and Mendoza were volunteering at the youth center. They both liked taking time to show kids a world free from gangs. They also liked ribbing each other.

Buzz had a date.

Sykes was going to visit her brother in San Antonio. Everyone was wishing for 5:00.

ADA Baldwin came in. "We made a deal with the client. The accountant is still denying any wrong doing."

"Who cares? His mistress told us where he hid the money, and we found it." Provenza was done with this mess.

"His assistant also rolled on him. Can we go now?" Flynn saw no reason to be here.

"Gentlemen, we have a job to do. Until we get that confession, hell what am I saying? I don't even want to be here."

"You Captain!" Provenza was surprised.

"You got a date?" Flynn inquired.

"Not that it is any of your concern, yes, I have dinner plans for tonight."

"Ooooh!" The squad went.

"Is he dreamy?" Provenza asked.

She shook her head. "Why do I bother? I'll tell you what, get me a confession, and I'll show you a photo. You can judge."

Provenza was on it. "I got this."

Sykes was laughing. "This is going to be great." The squad went to watch the interview.

Provenza walked in to interview room 1 where a beat up man was in a prison suit with his lawyer. "I am innocent."

"I know. You did your best for your clients, and now that they're in trouble, they're coming after you."

"I know right. I didn't do anything wrong."

"You were just helping your clients optimize their accounts. It wasn't your fault some of them got greedy."

"Exactly. This all started when my client, that savage, got greedy on his tax returns. The IRS caught him and he came after me."

"Could you explain that to me?"

"He was claiming fake deductions and the IRS caught him."

"He was pretending to donate to UNICEF is that right."

"Yes. Exactly."

"You see, that's where we have a problem."

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't get in trouble with the IRS."

"He didn't?"

"No. He went to UNICEF and was offended to find he wasn't listed as one of their donors when he had been giving them money for years. They had no record of his donations."

"What?"

"He found out that his manager was taking money out of his account, telling his it was going to UNICEF and then pocketing the dough."

"But why would he attack me? I had no control of his accounts."

"I thought that was weird, too, but then I found the IRS paperwork he did submit and it all included receipts from UNICEF, forgeries of course."

"His manager forged receipts too. What a bastard!"

"I know, but the problem is, you didn't stop him."

"I had no idea."

"But you did. You have been an accountant for years. You're the best. You know what real documents look like. These are clearly fakes, and you never said anything. I wondered why, but then the manager confessed. He said you two were splitting the cash, but you got greedy. You wanted too much, so he told him before you all got caught and that's why he attacked you. You didn't just steal from him, you stole from needy children."

"He's lying. He told me at first that he did give the money. He just lost the receipt. The second time, I got suspicious. He told me not to worry about it. He said that there really was money going to UNICEF, just not as much as he was reporting. He never said he stole the money from his client."

"So you knowingly committed tax fraud."

"I was just trying to keep a client happy. What they do with their own taxes is their business."

"How much did the manager pay you for your part?"

"Hardly anything. He just gave me 5k to shut up."

"I wish I could believe you."

"You don't believe me?"

"My problem is that this manager, and you go way back. You have lots of clients together, and if I look at all of their finances, I'm afraid I'm going to find the same scam over and over again."

"You won't. We only took the money from this client, and only a couple of times. We just needed enough money to get out of here. I hate LA, and I hate my greedy clients. They're all thieves anyway and drug abusers. I just wanted to get away."

"I think we're done here."

Provenza actually got a confession. He went back to the squad room. They applauded him.

"So can we go now," Flynn asked.

"Not yet. I want to see lover-boy." Provenza wanted to see her prize.

Sharon sighed and pulled up a picture on her phone. "Now don't go through the rest of them," she told him.

"I'll spare my eyes."

The whole squad huddled to see him. "Not bad," for the Captain. "You like younger men?"

"Hush!"

"Can't say I blame you. I'll never date a woman my own age."

Sharon rolled her eyes.

"Will he be at your garden party?"

"Of Course."

"Garden party?"

"It's a BBQ. I sent you invitations."

"I saw a letter from you and I didn't open it. I assumed it was an order to go to sensitivity training."

Everyone laughed at that.

Middle School

They had a short practice today, really just a walk through for tomorrow's game. Marcus would be starting the second quarter.

After practice, Marcus was tying his shoes. A kid stopped next to him in the hallway. It was Brian.

"What's up?"

"Don't think you're taking my starting spot. It's not going to happen. Not now, not ever." Brian was gone. Marcus wasn't concerned. Brian had been with the team a lot longer, but he was a little out of shape, too many chocolate and not enough time running.

He headed outside where his father was waiting.

"Ready to get bikes."

"Let's do it, Dad."

Prosecutors Office

Jackie and Tommy were hitting a club with Jackie's college roommate, Rachel. She had just moved back from Germany.

"You're welcome to come Chief."

"Maybe I will."

"What about you King David?"

"I'll see if Eliza wants to come. She needs to get out of the house. She's been fretting about her collection. It opens in a week."

"Are they throwing a party?" Tommy loved parties.

"I dunno. I'll ask." Gabriel hadn't actually thought about what opening a collection entailed. He just knew she was calm until her agent would call and then she'd spaz and then he'd calm her down and she'd do some work and then the agent would call and the cycle would repeat.

Sharon's House

Bobby had been brining the meat overnight. It gave the meat better seasoning, and it kept it juicier by boosting the water content. After brining, he let the meat air dry in the fridge and then he smoked it. The menu for tomorrow was pulled pork, brisket, and ribs. He was smoking a duck for dinner tonight, and he was going to smoke the meat overnight for tomorrow. He and Sharon were going to make a bunch of side dishes tomorrow.

"Need any help," Rusty came outside.

"Wanna learn how to make a spice rub?"

"Sure."

They went into the kitchen. Bobby showed him what he used. "I need to make a new batch." Bobby pulled out an array of spices, paprika, chili powder, cumin, dry mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, ground expresso beans and ancho chili powder. He mixed them all together and put them into a glass jar.

"Now, can you get some brown sugar and the mustard?"

Rusty went to the fridge and the cupboard. "We're going to put grapeseed oil, brown sugar and mustard in this bowl and whisk it."

They mixed the ingredients.

"Now, we're going to rub the meat in this mixture."

"Why not add the spices to it?"

"The oil mixture serves two roles. It will help protect the meat from drying out and it will make it easier for the spices to bind. We add the spices right before cooking, so the salt doesn't dry out the meat."

They rubbed the meat in the oil and stuck the meat back in the fridge.

"Now lets get the sides ready for dinner."

They washed their hands and put some rice on the stove. Then,, they chopped up some broccoli rabe, mushrooms, and onions. They put them all in a roasting pan, added a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and stuck the vegetables in the oven. Now it was time to get the duck off the smoker. Bobby brought the duck inside, rubbed some butter on the outside of it and stick it in the vented the smoker to lower the temperature for the meat.

Sharon just came home. "Hey boys."

"Just in time. Dinner's just about done."

Sharon kissed him and then went to wash her hands.

Rusty set the table.

Bobby took the veggies out and carved the duck. The rice was done. They sat down and ate.

"How was your day, Sharon?"

"Provenza got a confession."

"Really. Did the killer have an old man fetish?"

"Rusty. No. And there was no murder, it was a fraud case."

"Anyway, they're all excited about the barbeque."

"It's going to be great."

"We bought so much meat."

"And beer!"

Sharon smiled. How did she end up with a beer-guzzling southerner, a Johnson no less. If you told her this three years ago, she would have pissed herself laughing.

"Where's Kyle?"

"He's babysitting."

"Really. Someone take his man-card."

Rusty laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with men taking care of children."

Rusty and Bobby looked at each other. Yeah right.

"It's his cousin. She's 6 and apparently a spoiled brat. Kyle wanted to spare me the drama."

After dinner, Bobby and Rusty added more wood chips to the smoker. They rubbed the meat in the spice mixture and then they stuck the meat on the smoker. Bobby closed the lid. "I'll rotate it tomorrow."

"It won't burn overnight?"

"Nope. See the temperature gauge. It's only at 190. I'll raise it in the morning. Tonight, it will cook real slow."

"What else do you do to it tomorrow?"

"I'm going to make my barbeque sauce for the ribs, brush them and then cook the sauce on it for the last hour. I don't sauce the brisket and I don't add sauce to the pork until after I pull it apart."

"You make your own sauces too. That's awesome."

"I love BBQ."

"Me too."


	62. One Big Play

Friday night

Andrea and Flynn met his daughter's boyfriend. He actually was presentable. He wore clean-cut clothes, shaved at some point this month, and was polite. Flynn was a little skeptical at first, but the guy turned out to be pretty decent. He works as a consultant for Google and has been working there for three years. He has his own apartment and his own dog. Flynn had no idea where his daughter found this guy. The boyfriend excused himself and headed for the bathroom.

"What do you think Dad?"

"I think you should hold on to him as long as you can." Flynn meant that. He was probably the best guy she would ever bring home.

"I think he's nice," Andrea added.

"I like that he has a job."

"Glad to see you have such high hopes for me."

"I have the highest hopes for you. The only problem is the riff raff you usually bring home."

"Dad!"

The boyfriend returned.

"Would you like any dessert?" Andrea offered.

Brenda went out to grab a quick drink with her team. Tommy, Jackie and Rachel were there. Rachel was very pretty, green eyes, light brown hair, and curvaceous. She spoke in German on the phone. She didn't realize Brenda was fluent. She said something crass, and Brenda giggled. She turned Brenda's way. "Gotta go."

"Hi, I'm Rachel."

"I'm, Brenda."

"Brenda, nice to meet you."

"How come we don't get to call you Brenda?" Tommy was drunk.

"How drunk are you?"

"Don't ask," said Jackie. "He started early."

Brenda shook her head.

"Jackie didn't tell me you spoke German," Rachel looked at Brenda.

"I didn't know," Jackie admitted.

"I knew," said Tommy, giggling.

Brenda got a Manhattan. She and Rachel spoke in German. Jackie watched over Tommy. He was causing a bit of a ruckus.

Saturday

Bobby was boiling bourbon. He was making a sauce for the ribs. He added some organic ketchup and let it simmer. He chopped onions, crushed garlic, and added them to the bourbon. He mixed in some mustard, honey, chipotle, salt and pepper. He let it cook on low heat. These ribs were going to taste great. Rusty was making dough for the rolls. Bobby showed him his recipe. They infused olive oil with rosemary and garlic the night before. It was going to be brushed onto the rolls about 5 minutes before they were done. This was going to be quite the barbeque.

Sharon was making potato salad, grilled corn, and cucumber salad for the event. They also had portabello mushrooms for the vegetarians. "Do we have enough vegetarian options?" She asked Bobby.

"I boiled about two dozen eggs last night," he answered. "We can devil them."

"That sounds good."

"Brenda also said she'd bring dessert."

"You trust Brenda to cook?"

"I taught her myself."

She kissed him and went back to chopping potatoes.

The Gallery

Eliza and David were looking at the final arrangement. The exhibit went live next week in 7 countries. They would move each month on predetermined routes. Eliza was looking at the other arrangements through video feeds.

"They're finally coming together," she said.

"This is amazing," he kissed her. "Is there a party or anything to open the show?"

"Did I not tell you? There's a huge party on Friday. We're showing the exhibit Friday night to my benefactors, and there's a big party at Mr. Swanson's house afterwards. Did you want to bring anyone?"

"I have some work friends who want to check it out."

"Of course. Give me their names, and I'll put them on the list." She kissed him. "There will be free drinks, food, live music. It will be a blast." She kissed him again. Then, they got back to work. Her agent was freaking out. David was her buffer.

The Football Field

Fritz and Brenda were in the stands, waiting for a chance to see Marcus play. It was the first quarter and they were down 14-0. Rusty and Kyle were next to them. Sharon and Bobby were getting the BBQ ready.

They had another 3-0, time for the defense to come on. 1st and 10 at the 30 yard line. The defense blew coverage again. The other team got a 20 yard gain. Brenda grimaced. This was going to be an ugly game.

Coach blew his whistle. "Come on! You guys need to play harder." The defense was tired. They didn't start off so hot, but the offense wasn't doing well either, so they were always on the field. The other team did a running play. They ran up the middle, another 15 yard score. Coach called a timeout.

"We need to make some changes, now." The coach told them. He made some substitutions.

"What number is Marcus?"

"35."

"There he is."

Marcus took the field. He needed to stay with number 45. He was their best player. The whistle blew. The quarterback did a play action. He faked a handoff and then threw it down field. Number 45 ran hard. Marcus was right on his tail. The ball reached them. Number 45 extended his hands, sure to catch it, but then a hand blocked him. Marcus slapped the ball to the ground. Incomplete.

"Yay!" Brenda was rather loud. Rusty laughed at her.

"She's a natural soccer mom," Kyle joked.

"When are you getting a minivan?" asked Rusty.

"Keep it up and I'll show up at your wrestling matches."

"You wouldn't."

"With signs."

"She'll do it," added Fritz.

The coach sighed in relief. Finally, a break. The offense reset. This time, a rush up the middle. He got past the primary defenders, but then Marcus drilled him. He only gained 5 yards this time.

Third and 5. The offense spread out wide. The ball was snapped. Everyone ran. The wide receiver passed his guy. Marcus dropped back to help. Number 45 was left wide open.

The coach freaked out. "Marcus! What the hell are you doing? Find your man."

The ball headed straight for 45. He had a touchdown in his grasp, but then, poof! The ball was gone. Marcus took it at the last minute and started sprinting the other way. He never lost sight of the ball. He gave himself just enough time to chase it down and jump in front. No. 45 gave chase, but Marcus had a head start. The running back came for him, but Marcus juked him. The quarterback was the only one in his way. He tried to tackle Marcus but Marcus shoved him away with a stiff arm. He found the end zone. Now, the game was 14-7.

The crowd erupted. Brenda was shouting but you couldn't even hear her because everyone was shouting. They had never seen this kid before, but he was awesome. Brian was pissed. He told Travis,

"Who does this guy think he is?"

"Don't be a hater." Travis was relieved. He was glad there would be no shut out today.

Marcus gave the ball to the ref and walked down to his bench. He was careful not to celebrate. Some leagues kicked you out the game for stuff like that. He looked so cool, walking down the field like a smooth criminal.

"You almost gave me a heart attack," the coach told him. "Now get some water. You're going back in."

They kicked the ball to the other team. Earlier, they had a great kickoff return. Not this time. The Lions were revitalized. They took down the returner at the 18 yard line. First and 10. The defense took the field. All eyes were on Marcus. Number 45 stared him down. He was ready. They snapped the ball. Number 45 shoved Marcus to the ground and took off running. Marcus hopped up and chased him. The ball was thrown to the wide receiver. He caught it and was forced out of bounds at the 27 yard line, but the ref blew a whistle. "Holding, on the offense, number 45, half the distance to the goal. Repeat first down."

The other team was pissed, but it was a good call. Now it was first and 19 at the 9 yard line. They went for another passing play. This one was incomplete. Now that 45 was virtually shut down, the rest of the team could focus on the other receivers. They rushed up the middle a couple of times, but couldn't get to the 28 yard line. They had to punt.

The offense took the field, with excellent field position. Before Travis took the field, Marcus stopped him.

"Their lineman on you're right, number 53, has a bad knee."

"What?"

"I saw him walking on it gingerly. You should send the running plays that way."

Travis walked on to the field. The football was snapped. It was a passing play, but no one was open. Travis had to throw it away. Second down, a running play up the middle. They only got two yards. Third and eight. Everyone knew it would be a passing play. Again, no one was open. Travis decided to just run for it. What difference did it make at this point. He ran to the right, remembering Marcus's advice. The lineman couldn't catch him. He kept running. Eventually, he slid at 20. First down.

The crowd was ecstatic. This was the first sign of life for the offense all day. The offense went down field. Travis called for a pitch right. They gashed the defense and the running back got a touchdown on the right corner of the end zone.

14-all.

The second half was a triumph. The offense didn't score another touchdown. They had to settle for two field goals. The offense finally got its passing game and scored a touchdown. The defense got a safety and the Lions took it 23-20. This was their first victory in three weeks. The team was ecstatic.

The coach sighed in relief. He had a lot of work to do with this team, but they had some emerging talent. Travis was making smarter decisions. Marcus was a standout, and their punter had quite a foot.

Will came to pick up his son. He was surprised to see Brenda and Fritz there. He looked at Fritz and then looked at Marcus, who could have been his clone. "Since when did Fritz have a son?" Will thought to himself as he got Travis.

The kids were going out for pizza. "You coming Marcus."

"Not this time. My uncle's having a barbeque."

"This time of year."

"I think he's up for barbeque any time of year. Maybe next time."

Brian was not happy. He didn't go back in after the first quarter. After Marcus came out, Drew got to finish the game.

"You have quite a son," the coach told Fritz.

"I know. He had a great game."

"With hands like his, he could be a tight end."

Fritz and the coach made small talk. The moms came up to Brenda. They chatted about the game.

"Where did he learn to play?"

"He grew up in Chicago."

"He's really fast."

"You should see him on his bike." The kid went blazing up and down hills after he and his father got home from the bike shop.

"Does he play any other sports?"

"He plays baseball."

Brian's mother was rather curt. "'I see that Brian has new competition." She stared down Brenda.

"It's sixth grade. Everyone gets to play." Brenda didn't really know how to answer this woman.

"These days won't last forever." She was gone.

"Oh ignore her. She's just butt-hurt."

Brenda laughed at that.

Marcus took a shower and changed into street clothes. He passed the opposing coach on his way out.

"You have a lot of talent."

"Thank you sir."

"I'll have to watch out next year."

Marcus smiled and walked back to his family.

"Are you ready to go Marcus?"

"Yes."

"Have a nice day." Brenda and Fritz got in the car. Rusty, Kyle and and Marcus all climbed in the back.

The pies were in the trunk. Brenda had quite a bonanza making them all. Hopefully, they would be good.

Sharon's House.

Bobby took off the meat to rest it. He brushed the ribs with one more coat of sauce. He made a second sauce for the pulled pork, red chili flakes, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and a little honey. He whisked it all together and put it in a big bowl.

Sharon set up a table outside and started putting out plates and silverware. She made a big batch of lemonade and put it in a pitcher. She also put out bottled water. She left the beer to Bobby.

Guests started to arrive. Lieutenant Tao and his family were first. They came baring a bottle of wine for Sharon. "Oh you shouldn't have."

"Dad says only leeches show up empty handed."

"Kevin!"

Bobby heard the guests. "Hey, you all want some beer."

Kevin opened his mouth to speak.

"None for you," his father told him. "I'll have one."

Bobby came out with a case of Blue Moon. He was fine with Bud, but Sharon wanted something a little classier. He made a brian solution to put the beer in. He opened one and handed it to Mike. "Nice and cold."

"Thanks. I'm Mike Tao. This is my wife Cathy and my son Kevin."

"A pleasure," Bobby said as he shook hands. "we have water, lemonade, and snacks will be out shortly. The meat is almost done."

Sharon came out with potato salad and the cucumber salad.

"Is Rusty here?" Kevin asked.

"He'll be here soon," Sharon told him. "He went to Marcus's football game."

"Who's Marcus?" asked Mike. Sharon realized not everyone knew yet.

"He's Fritz's son," Sharon said, not saying anything more.

Mike and Cathy looked at each other. "What son?"

Flynn and Andrea showed up next. They brought avocado, tomatoes, onions and cilantro to make fresh guacamole and a bunch of blue corn chips. Flynn carried the bags towards the kitchen. Andrea went up to the Taos. "Hi Mike, Cathy, Kevin. How are you all?"

"I'm ready to eat," announced Kevin.

"Patience, Kevin," his mother told him.

"The food smells delicious," Mike added.

Sharon came out and started to grill the corn. "You need any help, Sharon?" Andrea offered.

"I think I'm good. Bobby might need some help though. He's made a lot of things." Andrea went inside to check. Flynn was scooping out the avocados and adding them to the wooden bowl. Bobby was shredding the pork with two large forks. "Do you need any help?"

"If you could brush the rolls with the olive oil, when the timer goes off, that would be great. The oil's by the stove and the brush is there too."

"No problem." She washed her hands and started cutting the tomatoes. She just finished when the timer went off. She took out the rolls. They smelled good, brushed them with the olive oil and put them back in the oven. Bobby set the timer for 2 minutes. He started mixing the pork with the sauce. He left some of the pork with no sauce. He wasn't going to serve it all at once. He took out the rolls and left them to rest on the cooling rack. Flynn had finished the guacamole and brought it outside along with the chips.

Andrea took a look at the kitchen. "This is an amazing spread." The smell of meat was overwhelming. All of her senses were tingling.

"The way BBQ should be." He took the brisket and started to slice it up. He brought out a platter of it. He came back and brought out some ribs. He had the rest of the ribs staying warm in the oven.

Provenza showed up and so did Sanchez. Buzz came along with his date, she was tall and very pretty.

Kevin was eating chips. The guacamole was good. Sharon finished the corn. She put some on the table to serve and decided to make a salsa with the rest of it. She mixed the corn with tomato, onion, cilantro and a little chipotle powder. She chilled it and made some deviled eggs.

"This brisket is delicious." Sanchez was a happy camper. Tao and Cathy tried some next. "It's so juicy," she said as she took another bite.

Mikki and Katie arrived next. They brought beer, lots of it. "Need a hand, Mikki," Sanchez called out to her.

"I got it." She needed no man. She carried the beer to sit under the other beer and added some to the vat of ice water. Sharon brought the salsa out and started to mingle. "Hi Mikki. Hi Katie," she greeted as she came outside.

Katie grabbed a beer. Time to drink.

"This food smells amazing," Mikki said. "Guacamole." She was gone.

Brenda and Fritz arrived with the boys. The older boys came running. "Meat!" Rusty yelled as he ran inside. Bobby was just done slicing the rolls. "Can you carry these outside?"

"Got it!" Rusty brought the rolls outside. Kyle carried out the pork. Bobby sighed. "Time for a beer." He grabbed one. His sister was finally here. "Hey Brenda! How was the game."

"It was fabulous. Marcus killed them."

"Did he now? He's a safety, right."

"Yes. He got an interception and ran it back for a touchdown."

"Nice."

"You hungry, Marcus. There's a lot of meat."

"Yes!" Marcus was off. He made two pulled pork sandwiches and grabbed a piece of corn.

Kyle and Rusty took their meat piles to the table. The four boys sat together, nomming away.

"Did you bring the pie?" Bobby asked his sister.

"Oh yes. It's in the trunk."

Fritz lugged them inside. "I should help him." Bobby was off. Brenda went to go eat. "I love his rolls," she said as she sat down.

"Who's boy is that?" Provenza asked pointing at Marcus.

"That's Marcus. He's Fritz's son."

"He has a son? Was he a secret?"

"He was a pleasant surprise," Brenda asked him.

"Uh oh." Provenza got scared.

"What's with you?" Flynn looked at him.

"What if I have a secret son?"

Everyone laughed at him.

Sharon sat down to join her team.

"Your house is lovely," Brenda told her.

"Thank you. How was the game?"

"Marcus was the star."

"Are you becoming a soccer mom?" asked Provenza.

"He was. He scored a touchdown."

"What position does he play?" Sanchez asked.

"He's a safety."

Flynn looked at her. "He scored a touchdown?" What is this woman talking about?

"He got an interception and ran it back." She grinned. He was going to be a star someday.

Bobby and Fritz came out of the kitchen. "I hear your boy is quite a football player."

"He did very well today. I didn't think Brenda would get so excited about it."

"She's probably getting to relive her cheerleading glory days."

Fritz laughed. "She was quite the cheerer today. I might have lost hearing."

Bobby laughed. "She would come to all of my games. This father got snappy after I dropped a pass. Brenda tore his head clean off."

Fritz grabbed a plate of food. "This pork is great. I like the sauce."

"It's really simple, just salt pepper, honey, apple cider vinegar and red pepper flakes."

"It complements the meat very nicely."

Bobby bit into a piece of brisket. "Now that's BBQ."

The boys started throwing the football around. Rusty ran with it, but Marcus knocked the ball out of his hands. "Fumble!" They all jumped on each other.

"Be careful," Cathy called out.

Marcus was at the bottom of the pile, clutching the ball. They got up and started running again.

Brenda snuck inside and looked for a drink. She was not a beer person. She found the bourbon and poured some in her glass. She added the lemonade. "Ahh!" she said, sipping away at her drink.

She saw the salsa and grabbed some and some chips and guacamole.

Katie was getting more ribs. "Your brother made this?"

"He's quite a cook."

"You don't say. I wish I had him for a brother."

"Be careful what you wish for." They laughed.

Flynn noticed that Bobby and Brenda looked a bit alike. They had the same eyes and nose. He mentioned it to Provenza. "Doesn't Brenda have three brothers?"

"So what?"

"Was one of them a Bobby?"

"You think that he's …."

"Don't you see the resemblance?"

"Sharon's dating Brenda's …."

The neighbor came over. "Do you have to be so loud?" He was a curmudgeon.

"Do you want any food?" Bobby knew that everyone with sense liked BBQ.

"It does smell good. What's that?"

"Pulled Pork."

"I'll try some."

Bobby brought him a sandwich. The old man bit into it and smiled. "This is excellent."

Sharon was shocked. She had never seen him smile, for anything, except that one time when the family across the street moved away. He was grinning all day that time.

Katie and Mikki were chatting. Sanchez decided to tease Mikki. "So you better watch out. Mikki has quite a temper."

"Do NOT!"

"See, there is is."

She stepped on his toes. He giggled. "I'm just teasing. She's quite nice, but she'll never admit it."

"Am NOT!"

Katie laughed. They were like brother and sister.

Bobby went to heat up the pies. He made some whipped cream to match.

The boys were playing. Bobby caught an errant pass. "Go long," he yelled. They took off. Marcus caught the ball with a dive. He ended up eating dirt. "Blech!" The other boys laughed at him. "You look a mess," Rusty told him. Marcus was covered in dirt. Good thing he was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

The pies were ready. The boys dug into that next.

Other neighbors stopped by. There was plenty of food.

The day started to wind down. People started saying their goodbyes. "Thank you all for coming," Bobby said.

"Thank you for making this feast." Everyone was full of food, or food and beer, and in Brenda's case, food and bourbon. Bobby started packing leftovers for people He kept the pork to make tacos. He gave away the brisket and most of the ribs were gone. Sharon also sent people home with side dishes; she did not want to eat all this fattening food all week, although it was delicious.

Marcus hugged Sharon and Bobby on his way out. He was a sweetie. Brenda asked her brother about Thanksgiving. "Charlie is going to visit Dad in Florida. Don't tell Dad, but Sharon and I are going to surprise him, Jimmy and Frank too."

"He's going to be so happy. See you soon." Brenda kissed him on the forehead and left.


	63. After the Party

Travis ate pizza with his teammates. His dad was usually not a fan of all these kids, but he wanted to make an appearance. It was important for him to be seen as a part of the community, now that he was the Chief.

"What do you know about Marcus?" he asked Travis.

"He's from Chicago. He used to live with his grandparents. They got old, so they sent him to live with his dad. That's about all I know. He's in the other class."

"He never met his dad before?"

"I don't think so."

Will thought the whole thing was odd. Fritz had a way of not telling Brenda things. He wondered if Fritz knew about Marcus and just didn't say anything.

The boys were still jabbering about the game. "Marcus was a beast," one boy went. "He rendered no. 45 useless."

"He took that ball right from him," another boy added. "I don't think I ever saw a kid run that fast."

"I wish he had come here earlier. Maybe we would have won more games."

"Do you think he'll start next year?" another kid continued.

Brian rolled his eyes. He was sick of Marcus. The kid just shows up out of no where and tries to take over everything.

"Maybe you should learn a new position," Jack teased him.

"Maybe I'll learn yours."

Jack stopped with the jokes.

"I heard he plays baseball too."

The kids kept talking about sports. It was their favorite, and they liked winning. It was a good feeling albeit a rare one for them this year.

Eliza and David came in for pizza. "I'm starved," she told him.

"Detective," Chief Pope called him.

"I'll be right back. Feel free to order whatever you want."

"Yes Chief Pope."

"You can call me Will here."

David was surprised and a little suspicious.

"How's the prosecutors' office treating you these days?"

"Great. We closed another case earlier this week."

"Good to hear. Your team's running smoothly?."

Eliza ordered a pie with pepperoni, capers, goat cheese and mushrooms. She also ordered a beer, and she got a soda for Gabriel.

She looked over. She had heard about Chief Pope, not the greatest things.

"Yes. Chief Johnson's done a great job." He didn't know where he was driving at.

"So I take it things are fine between her and Fritz."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Here it comes. He must have gotten dumped again.

"It must be a little odd, having a son all of the sudden."

"I think he's fitting in well. She doesn't shut up about him." Neither did these kids.

"That's good." Pope wasn't going to get anywhere right now.

"David," Eliza came to rescue her man. "The pizza should be out soon."

"Chief Pope, this is Eliza Hendricks." He introduced them, to his chagrin.

"I've heard that name before."

"She has an exhibit opening next week at the Geffen."

"That's great. I take it there will be an opening party."

"Yes on Friday. Maybe we'll see you there."

"Maybe." They left to eat.

"Why did you invite him?" David asked.

"I didn't. I said maybe I'd see him there. Is there a problem?"

"I think he has designs on the Chief again. He was asking about her marriage."

"Well, he better not try anything at my party because I'll toss him out myself."

"I'd love to see that." The pizza was delicious, fresh, crispy, chewy and awesome.

The boys all went home. Will drove Travis. He normally would be with Estelle on the weekend, but she went to Vail to ski. She and her boyfriend went alone.

"What do you think of Marcus?"

"He's alright. He's a good player. He doesn't talk too much."

"It must have been hard, not knowing his father for so long."

"He seems alright about it. He says his grandparents are totally awesome."

Will changed the subject. He wanted to know more.

BFM (Brenda, Fritz and Marcus)

They got home. Joel was meowing. Marcus scooped him up. The three all were ready to have food babies. Fritz fell on the couch. Brenda curled up next to him. Marcus and Joel were on the loveseat.

"Movie?" Fritz asked.

They put on the Thin Man.

"This is in black and white," Marcus noted.

"It's about a murder," Fritz told him.

Marcus started to pay attention.

"See if you can figure out who did it," Brenda challenged him. She closed her eyes, ready to nap.

Marcus watched intently. Everyone was a suspect, well except Nick and Nora.

Brenda dozed off. Fritz tried to stay up but he fell asleep too. Marcus stayed up till the end. The killer surprised him. He turned off the tv and went to bed.

Brenda woke up. She roused Fritzi. "Let's go to bed." He followed her upstairs and locked the door. They collapsed on the bed and began to kiss. They wrestled and rolled as the clothes came off. They both wanted it, but were both still a little drowsy. Brenda kissed him softly. "Let's go nice and slow," she whispered into his ear. He nodded and slipped his arms around her. He took her in the missionary position. She kissed his face and nuzzled his ear as he slowly went into her.

Her moans were soft and throaty. He held her and grunted as they got to work. She closed her eyes. It felt really nice having him on top of her. She started to nibble on his ear. She smelled really good. Fritz started to neck her. She moaned in his ear.

Eventually, he lost it. He collapsed onto her. She held him close. He felt bad that she didn't cum. She curled up into him. "Let's go to sleep."

"But you didn't …."

"It was good for me too." She went to sleep. He nestled against her, and they spooned.

Mikki's Apartment

Katie wanted to fuck. Mikki passed out on the couch. She had a rough week, and the food made her nice and drowsy. Katie realized she was on her own tonight. She went int the bed and took out her vibrator. It was quite a sight, too bad Mikki was missing it. Katie's legs were spread wide. Her blonde curls flowed as her body rocked back and forth.

"FUCK!" she yelled as an orgasm violently overtook her. She collapsed in the bed. She wished Mikki were awake to drill her. She took a dildo and began to fuck herself.

Mikki was sound asleep, missing her girlfriend's one-woman show. She started snoring.

Flynn's House

He and Andrea were canoodling. One of the virtues of being a vegetarian was that Flynn didn't overeat a bunch of meat. He was wide awake. Andrea had some brisket. It was delicious, but she got full fast, so she was awake too.

"Do you know if Bobby and Brenda are related?" He asked her.

"He's her brother. Tell me this isn't your idea of dirty talk."

"No! It just seems odd to me."

"That they're related?"

"That Sharon is living with Brenda's brother."

"Why is that odd?"

"They used to hate each other. You should have seen it. It was like WW2 every time FID got too close to a crime scene."

"They like each other now."

"I guess, but I never saw Sharon settling down with a southerner, especially not a former football player who chugs a beer a minute like he's 22."

"That part is pretty funny. Brenda says he likes to crush beer cans on his head."

"Now, I want to see Sharon's reaction to that." They laughed. "Can you imagine them all together at Christmas dinner? I must go first. No Me!"

"Oh! Stop. I'm sure they'll be just fine."

"What about our Christmas? Will I survive?"

"It depends. My father will probably grill you, but you're a tough man, I think."

"Oh! I love your confidence."

"You'll be just fine. My sister has already been bragging about you."

"What did she say? Flynn is a great guy. He banged my sister in the closet on my yacht."

"Oh hush. She doesn't know about that."

"Good! I'd rather that not be your father's first impression of me."


	64. Record Breaking

Sunday Morning

Sharon and Bobby had retired early the night before. He had done a lot of work the on Saturday. She woke up and the sun was shining through her bedroom window. It illuminated Bobby, and his chiseled abs. It also caused a shadow to cast on his hardened member. She giggled and she rubbed his belly. He rustled a little bit, but his eyes stayed closed. She kissed him awake. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was green.

"Good Morning, Baby!" He murmured as he put his hands on her shoulders. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and nothing else. He pulled her to him. "You smell nice," he said as he kissed her neck. She smiled and began to kiss his hovered over him, the shirt dangling as she kissed down his body. She bit his thighs. He writhed under her. She wanted to draw this out. Most of the time, this was about her. She got the jump on him this time.

She slowly took him in her hand and started to move lightly, brushing against him. He quivered in anticipation as she looked at him, seemingly innocently, but he knew better. She kissed him up and down, slowly moving against the underside of the head. She swirled around him with her tongue and slowly licked him. She got him wet with her saliva and began to stroke him. He liked her in her shirt, but he liked her better naked. He pulled the shirt off her in one swift motion, leaving her naked in front of him. Her body looked absolutely delicious, and he wanted every inch of her. His eyes grew wide and she slowly increased the pressure. He started bucking his hips, but she put her hand on his chest, signaling him to contain himself. He started to sweat. She started to suck.

"AAAAHHH" he grunted as she got to work. Just as he was getting ready to climax, she pulled her mouth away. She started to lick his balls and she sucked one into her mouth. She switched to the other one and began to stroke him. He was ready to cum again, but she stopped. Once she felt like she had tortured him enough, she drew him back in her mouth and sucked him until he was done. She looked at him. He had come undone. His head hit the pillow. She smiled. It was fun, reducing him to mere panting. He rolled over. She lied next to him, so they were face to face. She had a big grin on her face. He caught his breath. "Come here you little cum-slut." He pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her neck and chest. He bit down on her nipple and began to tease her body with this mouth and tongue. He spent a long time on her breasts and his hands rubbed her back, pushing her into his mouth.

She oohed and ahhed for him as he maneuvered across her body. He pulled her legs apart and positioned himself between them. He wanted to fuck her silly and all morning. He kissed his way to her mound and stopped. He looked into her eyes. They were green and perfect. Somehow, her hair was nice, like she hadn't just slept on it. He was going to have to change that. Luckily for Bobby, Rusty and Kyle walked and fed Hunter this morning.

He pushed her into the bed and began biting her stomach. Her flesh was nice and soft. She used a great lotion. He flipped her over and began kissing her from the neck downwards. He didn't see any teethmarks on her nice, fleshy ass, which was unusual. He bit down, hard.

"Ooh!" she moaned as she felt his teeth in her. That's going to leave a mark, she thought. He released her and continued to bite, softer ones this time. He squeezed both cheeks. She had such a great ass. His erection came back with a vengeance. He wanted to really drill her, and he was going to, in due time. He ran his fingers in between her legs. She was wet. He gently brushed against her clit and then moved his hands down her legs. He went back to her back and gave her a quick rub.

She murmured into the pillow as he relaxed her back. "That feels good!"

He went back to her wetness and began to lick her. She quickly got on her hands and knees to give him better access. She looked very alluring, and he wanted to start fucking her, but he held back. He was going to be giving it to her. "You're very tempting," he told her as he swatted her ass. He positioned himself between her legs and began to lick her. Her hips lurched forwards. He held her hips in place and continued to lick her softly.

"Oh God!"

He began to use his fingers to prod her. She writhed, begging for more. He teased her and then he began to finger her. She gasped and groaned for him. She started bucking against his fingers. He kept her on the edge. The most he had made her cum was 14 times in a day. He wanted to break his record. He was going to need to build up her lust, nice and slow.

He brought her to the edge and stopped at least four times. Sharon lost count. When he thought she was about to murder him, he lied down on his back and pulled her on top of him. She rode his face furiously until she was cumming. He sucked on her clit, hard. She came for him twice and then a third one. She collapsed on the bed. His face was wet and sticky. He kissed her intently. "I'm just getting started," he hissed into her ear. She barely caught her breath, and he started rubbing his erection against her soft folds. He pulled her on top of him, and she yelled as he thrusted into her. Her breasts were bouncing up and down as she rode him. His hands found her breasts and began to knead them. She gasped and grunted. "FUCK!" she yelled as he picked up the pace. They thrashed against each other violently. Her eyes found his. They locked into each other and his hands found their way behind their back. She put her hands behind his head.

He rubbed her clit, and she came hard. He rolled her over and began to kiss her passionately. Her legs locked around his hips. "Don't stop!" she hissed into his ear.

"I won't," he promised as his hands found her ass and he kneaded her cheeks. He was still hard and he had a lot of fucking to do. "How do you want it?"

She got on her hands and knees. She didn't like this position before Bobby. She found it degrading when her husband wanted it, but with Bobby, she just felt really amazing. He would kiss her neck and hold her like she was all that mattered. This time, Bobby gave into desire. He pushed his way into her and began to thrust. He needed to start slowly or he would lose his load ,and he had a lot of orgasms to procure. She grunted, wanting more. He kissed her neck. "We'll get there, in due time."

She wanted him to go harder, but she was patient. She did her best to hold still and not to rust him. Bobby was surprised with her restraint. Usually, she was cursing and bucking like a bronco by now. He liked it when she lost control, that she would get too horny to contain herself. He was going to get her there today, that was guaranteed.

He started to nibble on her ear and rub her breasts softly. She moaned and groaned for him. He grabbed her hips and began to pound her.

"FUCK!" she yelled as he drove his hips into her. His lips found her neck, and he bit her. He managed to hit her g-spot with every thrust and it wasn't long before she came for him two more times. He slowed down. He needed her to last longer. He began nuzzling her neck and whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

The amount of pleasure she was feeling was overwhelming. She needed something to distract her from it. She felt a hard slap. He hit her left cheek, then the right one. He gave her a spanking, quick and rough. The stinging felt really good. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"You like that don't you."

She just moaned.

He slowly built up his speed again. He got her just to the edge, and he slowed down. He built her up a second time and then a third. He was struggling with the urge to burst inside of her. He had to use a lot of patience. She was going crazy. Her hips started bucking into him. She wanted to cum, now. "FUCK ME!" she shouted. He grinned. He had her just where he wanted her. He grabbed a vibrator from the drawer and set it down. He started to fuck her, hard. She thrashed and bucked until she started cumming. He used the vibrator on her clit and got two more orgasms out of her. She collapsed forward.

"Dear God!" she cried out, her body depleted. He still had 5 to go today, but he had the rest of the day. She rolled onto her back. He straddled her and then he shot his load all over her face and breasts. She looked amazing, covered in his juices, hair a frazzled mess, cheeks bright read, covered in sweat, eyes a deep green.

"I love fucking you," he told her as he snuggled up behind her.

"You're like the energizer bunny," she told him.

"You fuel me. We fuck and you look so great afterwards that I want to fuck you again. The more I have you, the more I want you." He kissed her. "and I want more today."

She sighed. She didn't know how he had the energy or how he expected her too, but she knew that they would, and she would be cumming more that day. What a crime, too many orgasms to handle.

Rusty and Kyle ate breakfast. They made tacos from some of the leftover pork and some eggs. Kyle kissed Rusty by the sink. His hands found Rusty's ass. "What if they come out here?"

"From the sound of things, they're not going anywhere." Sharon was screaming. Bobby was definitely having his way with her. Kyle dropped down to his knees and began to suck Rusty. Rusty was still a little scared of getting caught, but it was fun, being naughty. His fingers found Kyle's hair. Kyle made quick work of Rusty. Rusty's knees started to buckle as Kyle finished him off. He picked up Rusty, put him over his shoulder and carried his prize to the bedroom.

BFM

Marcus woke up and he was hungry. He went down towards the kitchen to get something to eat. He saw Brenda and his father. Maybe they were cooking, he thought as he turned the corner. Instead, he saw Brenda pinned to the counter and Fritz embracing her. Her legs wrapped around his hips and they were kissing. Marcus snuck back upstairs. Fritz caught him out of the corner of his eyes as he moved to bite Brenda's neck. "I think he woke up," he whispered to her. She got down on her feet. "We should make breakfast. This is a kitchen." He smiled at her.

They made pancakes, regular, apple cinnamon, and chocolate chip and bacon. Fritz put some fruit in Andrea's juicer. He made a mixture from oranges and some pineapple. Brenda got out the whipped cream and the maple syrup. "Marcus! Breakfast!"

He came running. He was ready to eat a cow. He would have to settle for some pig and some pancakes.

Brenda gave him a stack of chocolate chip. Fritz got the plain, and Brenda wanted the apple cinnamon. The whipped cream was for Marcus. Everyone wanted syrup and juice. Brenda and Fritz had coffee.

"I love chocolate chip," Marcus said as he stuffed his face. He got whipped cream on his nose.

Brenda giggled. "You must be hungry."

"You have no idea." The bacon was nice and crisp. Marcus started to chew it, and he washed his food down with the juice.

"Thank you for making juice. This is great," Brenda looked at her husband. She hadn't even noticed there was a juicer.

"I found it the other day. She also has a bread machine."

"Fresh bread. Yum!"

They ate and chatted about the upcoming week. "Gabriel's girlfriend has an exhibit opening on Saturday."

"Really. What does she do?"

"Painting, sculpture, and I think sketches. She spent the last few years making 7 collections, and she's launching one on each continent, well, two in North America, all of them open on Saturday."

"Seven collections." Fritz was stunned.

"He invited us to the opening party on Friday."

"Party!" Marcus was excited.

"They're having a private showing at the gallery on Friday, and there's an after party at some mansion."

"Wow!"

"Do you want to go?" Brenda asked her husband.

"Yes!" yelled Marcus.

"I bet it will be fun," Fritz added. "Do you know who's going?"

"Gabriel invited the rest of my team. I assume that Eliza will have benefactors there, any of her LA friends, her agent, museum people, maybe some city people."

"Do you think the mayor will come?" Marcus asked.

"He might. It's a pretty big show."

"The governor might be there too." Fritz added.

"I wish Arnold were still the governor," Marcus lamented. They laughed.

Eliza's loft

She was getting nervous. She would have to talk to a lot of people, shake a lot of hands, accept a lot of embarrassing hugs. No matter how many exhibits she opened, each one was somehow more nerve-racking than the last one. People's expectations kept growing. The pressure kept building. The stakes were always higher.

Gabriel smooched her. "I know you will be nervous anyway, but calm down. You are an amazing person who poured her heart out into a fantastic collection, and the world will love it. You see the things they don't. You put on paper what people feel, but they cannot express." He looked into her eyes. He meant every word."

She hugged him. "How do you know exactly what to say?"

"Because I can feel what you're feeling, just as you can feel what I'm feeling."

"Did you speak to your pastor?"

"I did."

"How did it go?"

"It went well. He said he'd never seen me this happy, and I couldn't have done it without you."

She kissed him. "You complete me."

Flynn's House

Andrea was on a run. Flynn was home reading the paper. He liked Sunday morning. He would read and drink his coffee. His lady would run through the neighborhood and when she'd return, they'd make breakfast together and canoodle during the football games. His phone rang.

"Flynn here."

"Flynn, I need you over here ASAP."

"Provenza, what's going on?"

"No time for that. Just get here."

Flynn said, "I'm on my way." He put on his pants and left a note for Andrea.

She saw it when she got home. "A, I had to go. Provenza's in a jam. Will call when I can. F."

She headed for her shower. "Damn!" she muttered. She had been looking forward to cooking with Flynn. She would be making her breakfast alone.


	65. One More Time

Provenza was pacing. "When was Flynn going to get here?" The doorbell finally rang.

"Come on. I've been waiting forever."

"You just called me. What's gotten into you?"

Provenza showed Flynn his backroom. In it was a dead man, naked.

"Who the FUCK is that?"

"I have no idea. I went to bed, and he wasn't there. I woke up to make eggs, drink a coffee and read the paper, like I do every Sunday. Today, I decided to do the crossword. I went to get a pen and …."

"You never do crosswords."

"Well I wanted to do one today and, anyway, when I turned on the light, there he was, clearly dead."

"Why didn't you call it in?"

"And say what. There's another mysterious dead body w/ Lt. Provenza. I swear they'll make me retire fr this."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Figure out who this guy is and how he got here."

"Alone?"

"How you use your resources is up to you."

Flynn shook his head. He called the one woman he knew would always get them out of trouble.

Raydor's House

Kyle and Rusty were having a romp in his bedroom. It had been a while. They passed out after the barbeque and had both been busy with school. Kyle had a lot of making up to do. He checked out after the shooting. They took turns drilling the other one. Eventually, they both collapsed on the bed.

Bobby made lunch for himself and Sharon. He made quesadillas with pulled pork with a side of spicy corn. He also grabbed a beer. Sharon needed some wine. This was going to be along day. They sat down and ate. "How's your lunch?"

"It's fantastic. It was made by this studmuffin..."

"Do I know him?"

She smiled. He knew his good was amazing, and if he didn't, he should. She washed down the food with her pinot grigio. After lunch, she climbed into the shower. She needed to wash her hair. Bobby messed it up with his antics. She was just getting ready to lather herself when Bobby hopped in behind her. His lips found her neck, and he was on the attack. He kissed his way down her back and rubbed her from head to toe in soap suds. He knew exactly how to get her warmed up and he went for all of her erogenous zones. She turned to face him. She put her hands on his shoulders and she began to rub him with his shower gel. They got out of the shower and dried off. He carried her to the bed. He rubbed her moisturizer all over her body, paying extra attention to her nipples. He began to devour her. She writhed beneath him, still tender from earlier that day. He kept going began to rim her.

He paid careful attention to her body. He didn't want to start too early or else she would tire out. He slowly teased her body, building up her aggression from within and got her to look at him with lust-filled eyes. He smiled and began to slowly tease her. She leered at him, and he began to devour her again, treading lightly, moving around her clit but not touching it, approaching her g-spot but keeping his distance. He methodically licked and fingered her until she was ready to burst. He stopped and rolled her onto her hands and knees.

Sharon was desperate for more. She didn't know how she could want anymore after the fucking she got that morning, but she was still aroused. She had never been this horny before she meant Bobby but she loved getting fucked as much as he loved to give it, well almost as much. She didn't think anyone could love to fuck more than Bobby. She squirmed as a cold finger entered her. His finger was covered in lube. One became two and two became three, and he had her bucking against him. He covered his dick in lube and entered her from behind.

"AHHH FUCK!" she yelled as he plunged into her most sensitive place. He held still and he kissed her neck. "You ready for me." She nodded, and he got to work. He started slow but soon, he was at full speed. Sharon's eyes were ready to bug out of her head. Her hips started to move to meet Bobby's thrusts. He started to knead her breasts and pull on her nipples hard. She groaned and muttered obscenities as he took control of her body. Her clit was throbbing, and she needed a release. She began to rub herself, and she had another orgasm. He loved watching her touch herself, and he began to go into overdrive. A couple of minutes later, he pounded another orgasm out of her. He only had four more to go.

He held a vibrator to her clit and got another one. He thought she was done for the moment, but she thrusted into the vibrator and another one overtook her. She pushed the vibrator away. Her clit was worn out. He nuzzled her ear. "I'm almost done," he promise.d

"Almost!" How much more could she take?

He found a dildo and began to fuck her with it. He pulled her on top of him, so he could fuck her with his hand more easily. She rode him as he fucked her pussy with her toy. He got another orgasm from her. She was screaming the whole time. He pulled the dildo out of her. She sighed in relief. He slowed down his pace. She started to relax, thinking he had enough of her, but then, he went right back to full speed. He had her on her back with her ankles on his shoulders. He pounded her relentlessly. Her eyes were huge. She thought he was going to cum, but instead he went after her with the vibrator again. She was too stunned to push his hand away. Her clit was still sore from the last time he used it, but her body wanted to cum for him, and her body won out. He got her on the edge and then thrusted the dildo into her again and fucked her intently with it. She came twice and then one more time. She finally pushed his hand away. He promptly came inside of her.

"Now I'm done." He kissed her.

Oh now, that you obliterated my clit, you're done. "What gets into you?" She asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You're the most relentless lover I know. You don't stop until I can't move because I came so many times."

He smirked at her. "I can't help myself. I love it when you cum for me. It's very sexy, and I have to admit, it's quite an ego boost. I want you to make you cum as many times as I can." He kissed her lips.

"Today, I set a new record."

"Which was?"

"Seventeen."

Her eyes were huge. No wonder she was sore as fuck."You do realize that is insane."

"I know. Do you think we could get to 20?" It was a nice, round number.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, but it would be a pretty awesome way to go. "

She laughed.

Kyle looked at Rusty. "They're still fucking!"

"What can I say? He's like a pussy-slayer or something."

Kyle was cracking up.

BFM

Marcus was on the phone with his father. He told him all about the game and the barbeque. Henry was glad to hear Marcus was enjoying LA. He told him they were going to an art show on Friday, and he'd send pictures if he could.

Brenda and Fritz were making out on the couch. Her cell phone rang.

"Aw! Hell" Brenda looked at her phone. "Who could that be?"

Pope's House

Pope spent all morning searching for a way into this gallery opening. If David was going, Brenda was going. Maybe she'd bring the boy. Maybe, he could actually make sense of this mess.

He finally got an invite from some ho who is arranging the security detail. He was going to need to get a new suit, something really expensive.

Travis was riding his bike. His older brother, Simon was on Skype.

Washington, DC

Charlie was doing her homework. Someone knocked on her door. Before she could respond, she heard his voice. "Charlie, I know you're in there."

She didn't want to talk to him. There was nothing to say at this point. She was excited to be going to LA. It was going to be a great opportunity for her. Not only could he not appreciate that, he tried to use her trip to justify his own infidelity. She doesn't need a man to make her feel bad about trying to achieve something for herself. She had enough of that kind of crap.

She turned up her music and continued to type. She was writing a paper for her English class. The assignment was what makes you tick. She had just found her inspiration.

Provenza's house

"Hey Chief, It's Flynn. I'm at Provenza's place. Yeah, he hasn't moved. Can you come over? We could use your help. I have no idea what he did."

"I didn't do anything," Provenza yelled.

"You'll be right here. Should you bring Fritz?"

Provenza shook his head.

"It would be better if it were just you. Thanks. See you in 20."

"Twenty whole minutes."

"She has to drive here."

Provenza sighed.


	66. Troublemakers

Sharon was fast asleep. Bobby got dressed and headed for a beer. Rusty and Kyle were heading out for a smoke break. "You wanna come with," Rusty asked Bobby. He took his beer with him. There were kids at the park, so they kept walking until they got to an abandoned lot. Through the lot was an empty shed. They went inside and lit up a joint. "You must have had quite the morning," Kyle commented. "That I did," Bobby was just finishing his beer. "You really should get soundproof walls," added Rusty. "Are those real?"

Rusty and Kyle laughed. They smoked another one, and they headed home.

Flynn's House

Andrea made poached eggs and toast. She sat down and listened to jazz. No reason to watch football without Flynn. She curled up on the couch and rested.

Provenza's House

"How do you think we can investigate this alone?"

"How should I know? What else can we do?" The doorbell rang.

"Chief," Provenza answered. "Thanks for coming."

"What's the big secret? Flynn wouldn't even tell me what this was about?"

"Well, you see Chief. I've been a little ornery lately and they've been threatening to make me retire and..."

"You're always ornery," she interrupted. "What's going on here?"

"Come and look," Flynn called. He pointed. Brenda saw a corpse in the study.

"Did you do it with a candlestick?"

Flynn laughed. Provenza did not. "If I call this in, they'll make me retire. Pope has been dying to can my ass, and if not him, Taylor."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know. He was there when I got up, and he wasn't here when I went to bed."

"I don't see any shoes, or any clothes at all for that matter. Were there any weird footprints around?"

"I didn't see any footprints anywhere," Provenza told her.

Brenda looked around the room. She didn't see anything unusual, other than the dead guy behind the desk. She looked in the the rooms. No sign of forced entry. "Nothing's missing?"

"Nothing at all, other than this man's clothes."

"Do you think he could have been drunk and went back to the wrong house?" Brenda asked.

"He walked home naked?" Flynn questioned.

"That is odd. What if someone took his clothes after he died?"

"Who else would be here?" Provenza was baffled.

"Who knows when he died?" added Flynn.

"A coroner would know," Brenda suggested.

"We can't call Morales. He'll tell Raydor."

"What do you want me to do?" Brenda asked. The two men looked at each other and looked at her. "No way. Not going to do it."

They gave her their puppy eyes. "Uggh," she groaned. She made a phone call.

Terrence got there right away. "I'm so glad you feel you can trust me, Chief Johnson."

She groaned in her head. "Thank you for coming."

"So this is for a top secret case for the NSA."

"Yes. This is the home of an agent. He just returned from vacation, and he saw this.. It's probably nothing, but we just want to make sure."

"And you can't go through the normal protocols because their home addresses are top secret."

"Exactly."

Flynn and Provenza were impressed. She could really spoon-feed him some bullshit.

He took a liver probe. "He appears to have died between 4-5AM. I see no signs of blunt force trauma or any weapon. The petechial petechial hemorrhaging of the eyes and the strand of cotton in his mouth suggest he was smothered with a pillow. Probably while he was sleeping."

"Any suggestion as to where he died?" Brenda asked him.

"Somewhere with cotton pillows and what appears to be marshmallow dust."

"Marshmallow dust."

"You know. It's the sugary, powdery stuff that strippers wear on their breasts."

Flynn looked at him. Why would he expect Brenda to know that?

"Oh!" she said. He's so creepy. "So he might have seen a stripper last night."

"Or a girl playing the role at home."

Provenza started to look up strippers.

"Do you think you could do an autopsy in secret?"

"I could. Morales is gone for the weekend."

"You're the best."

He smiled. She always had a way of warming his awkward heart. "I'll need to come back with a van."

Brenda called Tommy. "Hey, I need you to do me a favor. I'm going to send you a photo of a man. Could you run him through facial recognition and see if you get a match? Also, can you keep this on the DL."

"Yes, Chief. Of Course." He had his work computer at home, so he didn't need to go anywhere or put on pants.

Brenda looked out the window. She saw a strange man looking at her. She walked towards Provenza. "Do you know that man?"

"He's just a neighbor. Why?"

"He keeps passing the house, almost like he's trying to look in. He also looks drunk."

Flynn looked. "Definitely a drunk."

Brenda walked out the back door and went to the left. She noticed a rolled up carpet, but didn't have time to stop. Flynn went right. She started whistling as she walked up the street. Just like she planned, the weird man followed her gaze. Flynn snuck up from behind, "What are you up to?"

The man jumped. "I uh nothing." Brenda returned.

"What's your name?"

"Boris uh Boris Tinsley."

"Mr. Tinsley, is there a reason you keep pacing outside my friend's house."

"I uh"

"Or that you keep looking through the window."

"I uh."

"Or that you reek of booze and it's only noon."

"I uh."

"Maybe we should chat," Flynn added. "Inside."

Boris reluctantly went with them. She lead him to the back of the house. "Is this your rug?"

"No!"

Provenza came out. "What is your mother's ugly rug doing in my backyard?"

"It's not ugly," Boris insisted

"So it is your rug."

"I uh well."

"Did you take this rug, wrap up a dead man in it and hide him in Provenza's house?"

"It was just a prank."

"A Prank?"

"I woke up, still drunk from the night before, and he was dead on our front lawn. I figured he had a heart attack or something, so I rolled him up and stuck him in Provenza's study. He's always cranky, snapping at everyone. I was really drunk, and I thought it would be a good laugh. When I sobered up, I realized how dumb I was, so I got drunk again."

"So you have no idea who this man is?" Brenda asked him.

"No. I've never seen him before. Can I go home now?"

Brenda shook her head. "Yes, but the rug is evidence for now, and don't try any more pranks."

"Yes, Ma'am." He ran home.

Provenza sighed.

"Now can we call this in?" asked Flynn.

"Not yet," Brenda said. "We're almost done thought." She got a text from Tommy. His name is Peter Quayle. He was 54 and an investment banker. Brenda looked up his website. "He appears to be friends with this guy." Brenda looked up his friend and gave him a call. "Hi, is this Sean? I'm Alicia and I'm looking for Peter Quayle. I was wondering if you could help me track him down. I tried his cell, but he didn't answer. You haven't seen him since last night. Where did you see him? Roy's Gentlemen's Club. He was with a dancer named Candy. Thank you."

"Let's get some Candy," Brenda said with a smirk.

They got to the strip club. She wasn't due to work for another 8 hours. They visited her house. To their surprise, she answered the door.

"Am I going to jail now?"

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Brenda looked at her. She hardly looked like a killer. She was small and looked upset. She couldn't have been more than 19.

"I danced for Petey and his friends at the club." She talked to Brenda, tuning out Flynn and Provenza.

"Petey, was he a regular?"

"Yes. He came at least once a month with his friends. Anyway, he paid me extra to do a private dance in his mobile home."

"He lived in a mobile home?"

"No, but he had it when he wanted to meet, and he didn't want everyone to know."

"Like his wife?"

"Yeah, like her. Anyway, we were intimate and he died, and I got scared, so I left him on the front lawn and drove the trailer out of there."

"How exactly did he died?"

"Well I was pegging him..."

"You were what? I don't know what that means."

"I was using a strap-on, well on him, and he wanted me to press his face into the pillow. I didn't want to hurt him, but he kept yelling for me to go harder and harder, and well, he died."

Brenda was stunned. She fucked him to death, literally. "And you got scared and left his body in the yard?"

"Yes. I know it was wrong."

Brenda wrote out a statement. "How about you sign this, and promise not to do that again?"

She signed it and they left.

Brenda called Terrence. "If anyone asks you, you found the body on a front lawn near that house we were at."

"Yes Chief Johnson."

The problem was over. Terrence took the body. There was no murder after all. They notified the wife and spared her the details as to how he died. They just said he died in his sleep, which was not that much of a lie.

Provenza sighed in relief. He could walk the beat for another day.

Flynn went home to his lover.

"Your're back," she said as she hugged him.

"Maybe, I should go more often."

"Is everything okay?"

"It is now." He kissed her.

"Want to tell me about it?"

"I do, but I want you to have plausible deniability." He kissed her again.

"I'm not going to ask."

"Good. Let's watch some football."

Brenda came home. Fritz was looking at her. "What was so important that you ran off in the middle of the afternoon?"

"You know Flynn and Provenza, causing a ruckus any day of the week."

"Is everything alright?"

"It is now." She smooched him.


	67. Bullies

Monday Morning

Atlanta, GA

The judge had a preliminary hearing. He asked the lawyers if they felt the agreement was fair and reasonable. They both agreed it, was and the judge said he would be reviewing it in detail before making a final determination. Jacob called his cousin to tell him the good news.

Joyce's lawyer called her. She was rather curt with him. She was still trying to plan her christmas vacation with her fiancee. She was put off that the penthouse condos had already been booked. She quarreled with several people and got nowhere.

Washington DC

Charlie got an A on her paper. She finally got used to abandoning her traditional notions of academic writing and actually confronting her emotions. The whole assignment was rather scary, but she was pleasantly surprised with the results. She had gotten a packet about housing options in LA. The dorms were pricy. She was considering subletting an apartment.

Florida

Clay was excited that his baby girl and her husband were coming to Thanksgiving. Last week, she called and said Fritz's son was coming too. Since when did he have a son? Clay had plenty of questions to ask when they arrived. Jr. finally took his wife for a night on the town over the weekend. He needed to stop his father's incessant badgering.

Quebec

Jimmy and Frank were enjoying the food and the culture in Montreal. Later this week, they would begin their drive down to Florida.

Los Angeles

Rusty was doing pretty well in school this semester. Kyle was actually a pretty good tutor, when he wasn't sucking dick.

Rumors were swirling about an upcoming rager. People were making political alliances for invitations. Rusty had no intentions of going. Not after the shitshow at the last one.

Prosecutors' Office

Everyone was jabbering about the party on Friday, what to wear, what was on the menu, who was coming. Brenda tried to get them to work, but she gave up and started checking her e-mail. Andrea came in and joined the conversation.

ADA Baldwin was ready to work. She was not amused that everyone was ready to gossip about an event, particularly one to which she had not been invited. She knocked on Chief Johnson's door and irately inquired as to why she never got a report on some case.

Brenda didn't know what she was talking about or why she had taken such an aggressive tone. "Need I remind you that I do not report to you? Furthermore, I have no idea what you are talking about."

Baldwin stared her down. "Fine." She had no idea why the DA would hire such a reckless woman. She turned and walked out.

"Don't mind her Chief," Jackie started.

"She's always been a bitch," added Tommy.

"Your language."

"Sorry, Chief!"

Major Crimes

Sharon came to work in a chipper mood. She really felt great after her Sunday with Bobby. Flynn and Provenza were up to their normal bickering. Sanchez was drinking coffee. Tao was geeking out in the corner, and Sykes was taking notes on some crap.

Chief Taylor walked into the office. He requested a word with the Captain. "Chief Pope want LAPD to be more transparent with the public. He is going to announce a new policy where a media liaison will ride along with different squads to cover a case. Traffic will be up first, but Major Crimes will likely go up this month."

"Wasn't having a media liaison a total disaster the last time?" Sharon remembered the drama surrounding Priority Homicide. The media portrayed specialization as a way of focusing the resources on the rich victims and ignoring the poor ones.

"Pope thinks that there will be more success this time around, and it's my job to make sure he's right." Taylor didn't even want to remember the days where Chief Johnson was giving the press statements.

"Very well. I will inform my team."

Taylor was gone. The Captain made her announcement and got a bunch of groans and boos.

"What's the big deal?" asked Sykes.

"The last time the media got involved, one of the guys stole evidence off our corpse before we got there." Tao remembered that.

"Another time, he fed information to a suspect, so when we went to interview him, we got no where," Flynn was pissed, mainly because it was a Croelick case.

"Another time, the ride along was a set up for a hit. Gabriel and Chief Johnson almost died," Sanchez added.

"Okay, I get it. You don't like the media, but this plan came from Chief Pope." More boos and groans. "I have orders, and now, so do you, so we'll have to make the best of it."

FBI Office

Fritz found something odd in his investigation. He noticed that one FBI office in particular had a large discrepancy between drugs estimated at the scene and what was weighed later. It was normal for people to overestimate their busts, but they were off by more than what's normal. It might be nothing, but Fritz decided he was going to check them out.

Chief's Office

Pope spent all day trying to figure out more about Marcus. He searched up and down for a Marcus Ginn in Chicago, but his search came up with a bunch of junk. He needed to know more, like his family members names.

Middle School

Monday was the running day for football. They ran laps, did sprints, running and passing, running and blocking, just get your feet moving. Kyle was moving quite well. He used to run with his grandfather. He and the wide receivers were tearing up the place. The rest of the defense, especially Brian were faltering.

The coach blew his whistle. "I want to see more hustle." He knew they were young, but they were too young to be this out of shape. These kids needed to give up the nintendo and the ice cream and get of their behinds for once. They ran a set of suicides and then got a water break. Afterwards, the team got split into groups.

Quarterbacks and wide receivers got one drill, running backs and tight ends got another, the linemen were together, special teams was together and so was the secondary. All of the groups were working together just fine, well except for the secondary. They had a two hand touch drill. One kid would run with the ball, another would make the "tackle" and then keep running. Kids would switch in. When it was Brian's turn, he tried to knock Marcus clean to the ground. Marcus stepped out of the way the first time. "Didn't you hear the coach?" Brian stormed back, not saying anything. They came up again the next round. Brian kicked Marcus, who didn't feel much under the pads.

After their drills, it was time for a scrimmage. They didn't keep score, but the tension was clear. Brian missed a tackle. Marcus had to chase the player down. Marcus went to get up and Brian hissed at him. "Show off."

Marcus answered. "Don't be mad at me cause your out of shape."

The animosity was clear. Marcus was well poised for interceptions, and Brian would come to mess them up. "Brian," the coach barked. "Remember your own assignments." Brian was leaving open players on the field. Eventually, the other side took notice and took advantage.

The coach called the end to the scrimmage. "We have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Brian stormed off the field. The coach shook his head.

Brenda picked up Marcus from school. "How was football?"

"It was okay."

"Just okay, something happen."

"This one kid doesn't like me, probably because the more I play, the less he plays."

"Brian."

"How'd you know?"

"I met his mother. She's not the nicest of people."

"Neither is he."

"She's probably really hard on him, harder than she should be. I don't expect you two to be friends, but try and understand that his behavior is probably more about his parents than anything else."

"I'll try."

They got home. Marcus put his stuff upstairs and headed for a shower.

Brenda started on dinner. Fritz texted earlier and said he'd be home by 6. She took out a whole chicken and washed it out with water. She patted it dry with paper towels and stuffed it with an orange and sage. She covered the chicken in salt and pepper and trussed it. Then she put it in the oven. She seared some chorizo and set it a side. Then she took out some bell peppers and julienned them. She chopped an onion and some mushrooms. She sauteed it all in butter that she added to the pork fat and added some cut up slices of old bread. She added crushed garlic, rosemary and a little thyme. She added some chicken broth to the mix and stirred it all together. She added the chorizo back in and stirred it all up.

Marcus was doing his homework and could smell the food. He was ready to forget about his math homework and eat. He wanted to be done, however, before his dad got home.

Brenda made a salad. She took mixed greens and added apple slices, and goat cheese. She put it all back in the fridge and was going to dress it right before dinner.

Her husband came home to the smell of roasting chicken and stuffing. He kissed his wife tenderly.

"How was your day?"

"I got chewed out by Baldwin, again."

"For what?"

"I don't know, not keeping her abreast of some case that I never heard of."

"How odd? What else was happening?"

"You know. Everyone was chatting about the party on Friday."

"Was she invited?"

"Probably not. Oh, is that what you think it is?"

"Maybe."

Brenda took a look at the chicken. She pulled it out of the oven and set it on a plate to rest. "Marcus, dinner in 5 minutes."

Fritz put his stuff away and washed his hands. Brenda rubbed the chicken with a pat of butter and sprinkled salt and pepper on top. She took out the salad and added pecans, salt, pepper, and a mix of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Fritz carved the bird. Marcus set the table and poured drinks. The sat down to eat.

"This is great," Marcus told her. The skin was crispy. The stuffing was really tasty. He ate the salad, although it was a little boring to him. The cheese was good.

Fritz was eating too much to speak. He intently stuffed his face. He loved it all and ate double the salad.

Brenda chewed hers. This time last year, she couldn't make any of this.

Fritz looked at an empty plate and then looked at his family. "How was football Marcus?"

"It was alright." Marcus looked back at his plate.

"He's having trouble with another player," Brenda added

"What happened?" Fritz thought Marcus was having a great time on the team.

"We were playing two-hand touch and he tried to tackle me."

"Maybe it was an accident?"

"He kicked me on the next play."

"Guess not. Have you talked to your coach?" Fritz didn't like where this was going.

"I'm already the new kid. I don't want to be the tattletale too."

"He has a point."

"Brenda."

"He does. I grew up with three brothers. I know what its like to have trouble with boys. He might be better off handling this himself."

Fritz thought this was nuts and that adults would be better at handling this.

"What should I do?" Marcus asked.

"Bullies stay in control by having the group's favor. Make friends with your teammates and Brian will lose the wind under his wings."

After dinner, Fritz put away the dishes. Marcus went back to doing his homework.

"Are you sure we shouldn't talk to the coaches?"

"Not too soon. If we step in, Marcus will look like a punk, and he won't learn to solve his own problems."

"I don't know."

Sharon's House

Bobby got the call from his lawyer. He was in the mood to celebrate, so he came home with two bottles of wine. One was Sharon's favorite, the other recommended by the sommelier at the store. He also picked up some lobster tails on his way home. He got home and opened the fridge. He took out the filet mignon, onions, mushrooms, and made a feast.

Rusty came out of his room when the smell of butter roused him. Sharon came home to see quite a spread. She kissed her lover and asked, "What is the special occasion?"

He spun her around. "The hearing went well today. I am one step closer to being divorced."

"I'm one step away from eating all of this food," Rusty proclaimed.

"Rusty, patience."

Bobby opened the wine. Sharon went to wash her hands. Rusty stole a taste of it behind her back. Bobby said nothing. The three sat down and ate.

"This is perfect timing," Sharon told him. "Work today sucked."

"What happened?" Rusty asked.

"Chief Pope brought back this program that was a disaster the last time he implemented it, and my team hates it. They literally booed me when I made the announcement."

"They weren't booing you," Bobby told her. "They were booing him, but he wasn't there."

Sharon laughed. "Well, I'm still stuck with it."

"Maybe you can make it better," Rusty suggested.

The food was perfect, the wine, amazing, and they were a family, albeit a strangely formed one.


	68. Petty Feuds

Tuesday

Flynn and Andrea woke up hearing a loud argument. They peered out the window to see a woman screaming obscenities at a door.

"Carlos. You piece of SHIT. You will pay for this and you're whore too." She took a key, scratched up the car and then took a brick and threw it through his window. She hopped in her car and peeled out.

Flynn and Andrea watched in shock, unsure if they should do anything about what they just witnessed.

"I'm off duty," said Flynn as he slipped his arms around his mate. "Let's just go back to bed."

Sharon's House

Rusty got ready to go to school. Bobby was dropping him off on his way to work. Sharon was up and drinking coffee. She didn't need to be at work just yet, so she was having an easy morning. Hunter was napping by Sharon's feet.

The Prosecutors Office

Brenda was in a meeting discussing the resolution of a prior case. Apparently, Baldwin was upset that a suspect had been released, without her knowledge or consent. Brenda had not been aware that it was Baldwin's case.

"I should have had the opportunity to review the case myself and decide if charges should be filed." Baldwin was mad.

The case involved a 70 year old man who allegedly was selling K-2, synthetic marijuana. The man was old and a little senile. He didn't even know what K-2 was. He just sold it because of a pitch from a salesman that came to his office. He just knew the kids bought it. He thought it was an air freshener or something. They interviewed the man. They searched the store. They found nothing to suggest he was knowingly doing anything wrong. They found the salesman and arrested him, as he was peddling K-2 all over the county. The officer decided to let the old man go with a warning. They made a follow-up visit and everything was fine.

The DA asked Brenda why Baldwin hadn't been informed. Brenda didn't know, but she was in charge. It was her job to know or at least her job to make sure her underlings knew.

"I am sure the officers meant no harm when they released the suspect. Part of being an officer is evaluating people's behavior and making an on the spot determination. I'm sure after interviewing him, observing his body language and searching the scene, they reached the conclusion that he was a senile old man who got tricked. Lots of store owners have been in the same position. These synthetic drugs are labeled and packaged as everyday items, so people don't suspect anything."

"These street drugs are dangerous. We need to send out a message." More politics.

"And we are sending out a message. The salesman was arrested as was the importer who was buying this stuff from China. We also are working with the middle schools and high schools to update the drug education curriculum to cover this stuff and reaching out to the PTAs, so parents ant teachers can be on the look out."

"I am sure that Chief Johnson and everyone else here takes this drug problem seriously, and the decision to release the suspect without charges was made after careful consideration. However, I expect for the investigators to communicate with their ADA counterparts, earlier rather than later." The DA has spoken.

"Of Course."

They both left. Brenda walked to find the investigator who ran this case. She moved quickly quickly, escaping before Baldwin could say anything to her.

Wednesday

The Loft

Eliza was finishing some gifts she had made for her beneficiaries. She liked to bring them presents to give them as a token of her gratitude. They were cheap to make and the patrons could show them off to their friends, which is why they gave money to artists in the first place. Eliza had her friend carve music boxes. She did the art for them, using old sketches. David's idea turned out to be a good one and they turned out beautifully. She had the boxes play songs that she enjoyed as she travelled the world.

Major Crimes

Juanita came into the police station, claiming her ex-boyfriend had tried to run her off the road. Flynn saw her, and thought uh oh. He whispered to Provenza, "I might have a problem." He and Provenza went to chat privately.

"What did you do Flynn?"

"It was early morning, and I saw that woman screaming at my neighbor. She keyed his car and threw a rock through it and drove off."

"What did you do?"

"I went back to bed it was like 5 in the morning."

"So he had a motive."

"But he was awake when she did it. His lights were on, and he stayed inside. If he had a temper, why not attack her then."

Provenza shook his head.

The Mall

Chief Pope was buying a new tuxedo. He looked in the mirror and all he saw was expensive and prestigious. It was perfect. He bought new shoes to match and got nice cuff links to finish off the outfit. He had the outfit zipped up and was ready to go home.

Middle School

Travis lamented that there weren't enough drivers to take the team out to get ice cream after Saturday's game. It was the last game before Thanksgiving. Thinking of Brenda's advice, Marcus offered to have his father and stepmother drive. The team was thrilled to hear this.

The boys were throwing around the football before practice. Travis invited Marcus to play with the offense. He threw the ball long. Marcus snatched it with ease. "How do you catch the ball so easily?" one boy asked him.

"Pretend it's a baby," Marcus told him.

"What?"

"When the football is about to reach your hands, cradle it like an baby. People usually try and grab the ball head on, and the ball bounces out of their hands. You want to give when you catch it. Once you have it, hold on tight and tuck it away."

Travis threw the ball again. This time, Marcus stayed back and watched the other boy try to catch it. He caught it and was so surprised by that, he almost dropped it.

"You caught it. Now, tuck it and run."

Thursday

Carlos denied ramming his ex's car. He said she trashed his car on Monday, and he had to have it towed to a shop to fix it. He had been getting rides to work from a coworker.

The coworker confirmed the story and seemed credible. Neither man had an orange SUV, which was the car Juanita claimed he had been driving.

Night

Mikki and Katie were drinking beer at the museum. David snuck them in to check out the exhibit before the party. Mikki and Katie were not the type for a fancy party. They'd rather be at home drinking beer. Eliza came out and met Gabriel's friends. She gave them a tour of the exhibit. It was much easier to talk with a small group.

Friday

Major Crimes

Juanita came back, demanding to know why Carlos had not been arrested. They tried to explain to her that he denied it, they couldn't connect him to the car, and he had an alibi witness. He also alleged that she vandalized his car. Juanita denied it. Flynn knew she was lying. He asked the other men a question. "If an ex-girlfriend was destroying your car, why would you stay inside instead of confronting her."

Tao started, "If she had a weapon, I would stay inside."

Julio went next, "If I had another lady in the house, I would stay inside."

Provenza was third, "If I had Flynn's car, I would stay inside."

Flynn thought Julio had it right. He called Carlos and asked him if he had a girlfriend.

"Why do you need to know?"

"We need a motive. Why else would Juanita damage your car and invent an assault?"

Carlos told Flynn he was seeing Juanita's best friend Maria, which is why he didn't come outside.

"What kind of car does she have?"

"She usually borrows her dad's car. I think it's an SUV."

Flynn hung up. He told the captain that Carlos had a new girlfriend, and she sometimes drove her dad's SUV.

They went out there to see an orange SUV with a dent in the back.

Maria's dad was there and said his daughter told him she had gotten rammed, and the driver took off.

They went to Maria's work and found her. She told them that Juanita rammed her car when she found out that she had been dating Carlos. She was upset because Carlos was the father of her child, but he don't love her no more.

They arrested Juanita for vandalism and aggravated assault for ramming Maria's car. They all left for the day to get ready for the evening affair.

The museum

This party was swanky. The Great Gatsby movie was nothing compared to this. The artwork was incredible. There were pieces on the wall, sculptures on the floor and on pedestals, and there was even a video feed of the other openings. Also, there was a virtual reconstruction of the whole project, all seven collections.

There was live music playing, hors d'oeuvres being handed out along with a display in the middle, wine and beer being served, they had gift bags for the guests and a lounge to cool down. She had a large sculpture in the main room and smaller ones around There were luxury outfits, benefactors, diplomats and politicians, art critics and historians, select fans who had won some contest, and of course, Eliza and her guests.

She looked divine, in a black and white Prada dress, heels and had her hair done up. She wore a necklace that had been given to her by a jeweler to wear for the night. David was by her side, wearing a new tuxedo. She got him a Philippe Patek watch to wear, and he looked smashing.

Cameras turned when they walked in together. Flashes overtook their vision as they made their entrance. "Just look in the middle of your double vision," she told him as they got to the crowd. Her agent was awaiting them, eager to tell them who they needed to meet and greet and thank.

People swarmed on Eliza from all directions, each eager to make sure she remembered him or her. She recalled names and memories of meeting them previously at a drop of a hat. Clearly, she had a lot of practice. She introduced David to her friends from New York who had flown in for the occasion.

Tommy, Jackie and Rachel all came in together. They were ecstatic. Tommy rushed to the free drinks. Jackie was immediately drawn to the artwork all around her, and Rachel went to mingle. She loved meeting new people.

Pope walked in with a woman on his arm. He quickly ignored her as he went to puff out his chest and shake hands with the governor and other noted politicians. The dame went off to find the bar.

Art critics were commenting, note taking, grabbing brochures. Historians were comparing her to various greats of the past. Socialites were figuring out who was wearing which designer and were judging the wine, which was quite good, along with the food, 5 star quality. There was a lot of staff to keep everything clean and tidy. Security was tight. No D-listers were sneaking into this event.

Marcus was amongst the few children at the exhibit. He was very excited. He took pictures of everything, and couldn't wait to send them to his grandfather. A security guard went to tell him no pictures, but Eliza cut him off. "He's just a boy," she said.

Pope noticed the boy running about. He looked up, waiting to see Brenda. She had her hair up and a beautiful diamond necklace on. She of course borrowed it from a friend. She mentioned she was going to a grand opening, and her friend told her she needed new clothes. Brenda also borrowed the couture dress. Her husband wore a tux that he rented for the evening. He had no idea this event would be so flashy. Brenda saw Gabriel, finally a familiar face. She said hello and was surprised when Eliza hugged her.

"I'm so glad you came."

"We wouldn't miss it. This is incredible." Brenda had never seen an event quite like this one. She had no idea art openings were such a big fanfare.

A waiter promptly offered Brenda wine. She, of course, took the red one. Her husband came with sparkling grape juice. It tasted like flowers..

Flynn and Andrea appeared out of the woodwork. He found his outfit to be itchy. Andrea told him to stop scratching, and she held his hand to distract him.

Sanchez approached the group. "This show is amazing."

"Have you seen the other collections?" Tao came up next.

"They're here?" Sanchez looked confused.

"On a video feed." Tao led Sanchez to the other room.

"Even at an art museum, Tao is geeking out with technology." Everyone laughed at Brenda's quip.

Marcus snapped pictures of everything and was now chowing down. The food was really good. They had these bagel bites, that were freshly made mini bagels, homemade sauce, covered with asiago and mozzarella cheeses and fresh herbs on top. Some were plain; others had pancini. There were all different kinds of food; seafood, fruit, veggies, pastries, meat, dairy, hot food, cold food, spicy food, fusion style, etc. This was quite a display.

Pope waited for a chance to talk to Brenda alone. The agent came to the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for coming. First, we would like to thank the people who made this all happen." She listed the benefactors, the museum people, the city people, blah blah blah. Eventually, she finished talking and the museum curator came up. He spoke a bit about the museum. He was an old man who loved art, but hated the pretense of these huge events. He also knew the museum needed money and put in his obligatory sales pitch for donations. Then, he introduced another person who was to introduce Eliza. He was one of the board members from the museum. This man came up. He was about 50, covered in fancy stuff, and this museum was his way of "giving back to the community." He spoke for too long, and then Eliza finally took the stage.

"Hello, Everyone." The crowd was clapping. This speech was getting broadcasted to all of her openings, even though she made each of them a pre-recorded speech. "I am so glad that you all with me and came out for this day. I want to give a big thank you to everyone in this room, and everyone who is at my show in New York, San Paulo, Barcelona, Cairo, Tokyo and Perth. I hope you are all having a great time and please, keep eating and drinking until your heart's content." Everyone cheered loudly for that. "The food is local. The wine is local. This is true for every show. These cities gave me a lot, and I wanted to highlight some of the excellent food and drinks that are right in your backyard. I was lucky enough to be able to travel the world, work with great people, and have the time of my life, and now, I am even luckier and I can show the last few years of my life to the world. I hope you all enjoy it." She smiled and stepped of the stage.

Bobby went straight for the free beer. Sharon went to get some snacks. She was starved. She could have seen if she could get an invitation for Rusty and Kyle but they wanted to go bowling instead. They were missing quite the show. Chief Pope approached Sharon. "Captain."

"Chief Pope. I hope all is well."

"Yes things are fine. How is Major Crimes doing?"

"They're actually doing just fine. It's almost like they've warmed up to me. Don't tell Provenza though. He will regress."

Will laughed. "I knew they would. They didn't like Brenda very much when she arrived either."

"She mentioned that." Bobby returned. He was not happy to see Will.

"Bobby? What brings you to LA?"

"I moved here." That's all he said. Will moved on.

"What was that about?" She asked him.

"What do you think?" Bobby said.

Sharon knew. "He's my boss. I have to be nice."

"I don't."

"How about we get some more food?" Bobby saw the meat on skewers, and his whole demeanor changed.

Brenda introduced Rachel to Fritz. "She's a translator," she told her husband.

"What languages?"

"I specialize in German, but I also know French, Russian, and I'm conversant in Arabic. I guess Spanish is next, since I'm in LA."

"The Bureau can always use translators," Fritz gave her his card.

"Thanks." Rachel had no permanent job yet. She had been working as an independent since she arrived.

Marcus peppered Eliza with questions, when did she start, how long has she been an artist, where does she work, how does she know what to make.

"What do you like to do?" She asked him.

"I like football and baseball."

"Let's take football. What position do you play?"

"Safety."

"How do you know what to do during the games?"

"I get a playbook, but sometimes, you just have to pay attention to what's around you. Sometimes the other team runs a trick play or a player breaks his route. You never really know until you're in the game."

"And when you look back on your game, do you ever wish you had made different decisions."

"Yeah."

"Art is the same way. Sometimes, I don't know what I am going to make until I start and other times, I finish a piece, want to change it and start again. Look at this sculpture." She pointed to a monkey hanging from a tree biting into some sugar cane. This idea started from a sketch I did in Brazil. At first, it was a monkey holding a bottle of rum, but after I drew it. I realized I wanted it to be something else. Eventually, I ended up with a sketch of the monkey in the tree, and I did several sculptures before I settled on this one."

"Really. That's cool."

Fritz found his son and gave Eliza a break. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble," he said later.

"Oh no. He's a sweetie."

Brenda found her brother, and they were both enjoying the free drinks. Champagne glasses started to appear. A toast, they each thought, reaching for a glass.

Soon, all of the drinkers had a glass of champagne, and they had a quick toast. The party resumed. Bobby went to get some more meat. Will appeared once he was gone.

"Brenda."

"Will." She was not terribly happy to see him.

"It's been a long time."

"It has." Rumor had it that Will had cut off a lot of people once he got his big promotion. He spent his time sucking up to "important" people. Brenda didn't know why he was eager to talk to her now, but she didn't particularly want to find out.

"I hear a congratulations is in order."

"For what?"

"I hear you and Fritz have a son now. I didn't know you were looking to adopt." Will hoped he could get an accurate story by playing dom.

"His name is Marcus, and we didn't adopt him. He's Fritz's son."

"I didn't know that."

"Really? He plays football with your son. We're driving them all to get ice cream tomorrow." Brenda couldn't believe she got suckered into that. She did tell Marcus to make friends, so that's what she gets.

"Oh. Imagine that."

Marcus appeared. "Did you see the sculpture of a monkey hanging from a tree?"

'Not yet, honey. Marcus, this is Chief Pope. He's in charge of LAPD."

Marcus shook his hand. "So you're Travis's Dad."

"Yes. Maybe I'll see you on Saturday for ice cream."

"Really, Travis said you were busy, sucking up to important people."

Brenda snickered at that.

"I'm sure we can work something out."

Fritz appeared. "Hey Marcus, have you seen the other monkeys?"

"Where?"

"There's a whole bunch in the tv room. Look at the Brazil exhibit." Eliza had made the collections so each one had some pieces that were conceptualized in different continents. She wanted to give the collections some continuity. The collection in Brazil had most of the monkeys.

"Cool." Marcus was off.

Fritz and Brenda exchanged a few words with Will, and then they were off. Will hadn't learned anything new, and he didn't see any indication that Brenda was stressed out from the surprise kid. She actually appeared quite fond of him.

The party started to shift into the after party. Fritz and his family went home. Marcus had a game tomorrow, and he needed to sleep. There was a shuttle taking people to the after party. No drinking and driving from this event.

Eliza spent her time shaking hands and listening to various types of drivel. Finally, she earned her escape and was ready to head out.

"Want to go home, David?"

"You're not going to the after party?" Provenza couldn't believe it. "I'm going." Sanchez was going to. Tao was going to bed. Buzz and his lady friend were down with going.

"I guess we should stop by." Eliza planned to smile, thank the host and run away.


	69. Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Break couldn't come fast enough. The kids could barely pay attention in school. The adults didn't want to be at work. Everyone was focused on his or her holiday plans. Finally, it was Wednesday evening.

Fritz and his family had an evening flight to Florida. Bobby and Sharon were on the same flight. Rusty was spending Thanksgiving with Kyle's family. Eliza and David were having dinner. Flynn and Andrea were spending the holiday with two of his kids. His other daughter was going to meet her boyfriend's family. Provenza got roped into having dinner with his daughter, his grandkids and Liz. Sanchez was with his family as was Tao. Buzz was spending the holiday with his mother. She made a special batch of pumpkin brownies for the occasion.

Thursday Morning

They arrived in Florida at about 6AM. They were exhausted, well except for Marcus who slept like a baby. Fritz and Bobby rented a car together and the party of five went to the hotel. Brenda promptly climbed into bed and slept.

Fritz sent a text message to Clay, so he would know that they landed. Bobby texted Frank to ask when he and Jimmy would arrive.

Jimmy and Frank were in Georgia, just about to get into Florida. They had about four hours before they would get to Jr's town.

The Loft

Eliza had a turkey brining. David was making the sides: stuffing, cornbread, fresh cranberry sauce and a avocado salad. Jackie, Tommy and Rachel were coming over later. Rachel was bringing dessert and Tommy and Rachel were bringing the alcohol.

Flynn's house

No one wanted a tofurky. Instead, they were going to make eggplant parmesan, poached eggs, a mushroom risotto, and apple pie and ice cream for dessert. They also had fresh cider and hot chocolate.

Flynn's kids came over. They brought a salad and rolls. Andrea put on some music, Ray Charles for the occasion. They sat down and began talking. Flynn brought out drinks. Of course his kids continued whatever bickering match they were having on the way over there.

Flynn wouldn't have it any other way. Andrea wanted to spike her drink. She was used to bickering. Her household did it all the time growing up. Her mother got through it by drinking. Andrea didn't take that route, though sometimes she wanted to.

Pope's House

He was alone. His ex had the kids, and he had no date for the occasion. Apparently, even cheap broads have families. He walked around and saw that an animal shelter was open until 2PM. He went by and saw a bunch of cats and dogs. One stuck out to him, a two year old Irish settler named Molly. Apparently, Pope can never turn down a redhead. He brought her home. He had literally no dog stuff and had to go to Petco. He got there just before it closed and grabbed some food, a collar and leash, a water dish and a dog bed.

He loaded up the car, and they went home.

Jackie's Apartment

She was making Sangria to bring to Thanksgiving. She poured peach liqueur, blackberry brandy, rum, orange slices and berries into a pitcher. She let the fruit absorb the liquor. She chilled the red wine. She was going to mix them at the dinner, so it didn't spill.

Tommy bought an array of craft beers.

The pool

Marcus and Sharon went for a swim. It was nice to spend some time in the water. It got Sharon's muscles working and the water was nice and soothing. Marcus thought this was much better than being in class.

Bobby took a nap. As much as he loved Sharon in a bathing suit, he couldn't keep his eyes open. Fritz and Brenda made use of their time alone in the hotel room.

They moved quickly, unsure of how long Marcus would spend in the pool. Their clothes were off and they were kissing and groping each other. Brenda was biting on Fritz's thigh. He muttered and groaned as she began to suck on him. He got hard quickly and pulled her off. He wanted to pound her. She readily gt on her hands and knees and he took her from behind. His hands found her curvaceous hips, and he began to thrust.

She moaned and yelled as he had his way with her. It had been a busy week, and they were both eager to fuck. Her hand slipped between her legs, and she began to rub her clit furiously. It wasn't long before she was having an orgasm. Her hand slipped away from her, and Fritz started gnawing on her neck. He pulled her on top, and she began to ride him, grinding her clit against his pelvic bone. She started cumming again.

He thrusted a few more times and then he was spent. They collapsed next to each other, limbs entangled.

"We should shower," she finally said. He scooped her into his arms, and they got to it. The shower was slow and easy. They lathered each other in soap suds, and he washed her hair. They left the shower kissing. They dried off and got dressed. Brenda pulled the sheets off the bed and left them in the corner.

Sharon and Marcus returned from their swim. Bobby woke up and joined Sharon in the shower. They kissed excitedly. Marcus took a shower and washed his hair.

They all went to brunch. Marcus got the stuffed French Toast. Brenda got pancakes, eggs Benedict and hash browns for Fritz, Sharon got a vegetable omelet and Bobby got the breakfast burger topped with an poached egg and crispy bacon. They ate and chatted about the upcoming day. Brenda was going to call and see if they needed anything before they arrived. Frank called, they were in town, but they needed to get to the hotel first. They were going to shower and take a quick nap. They planned to get to the house around 2:00. They brought with them wine and some bourbon for Dad. They also brought some weed, but that was a secret.

After brunch, Bobby and Brenda went to the store. Bobby wanted to buy beer and when Brenda called Dad, he said they could use some more eggs, and if they could bring rolls, that would be great. The Mrs. was stressed. She had three kids running around, a grouchy husband with a bunch of demands. Clay Sr. was trying to keep the peace. Brenda said she would help cook when she got there. Clay didn't' believe she could cook, but he agreed to relay the message.

Bobby bought a case of bud. Brenda went for a bottle of tequila. She knew this was going to be quite an affair. She bought eggs and she was going to get the frozen rolls, but Bobby said they could make them from scratch. They bought butter, active dry yeast, and some rosemary. Bobby also grabbed some salad stuff. They used a lot of butter in the Johnson household, and he knew Sharon would like something lighter to put on her plate. They got back to the hotel and called Jimmy. They picked up flowers for the house and the family was off.

It took about 20 minutes to get to the house. Brenda rang the doorbell. Her niece answered it. "Hi Aunt Brenda. Hi Uncle Fritz. You must be Marcus. Come in, but don't touch the model air planes. Trey will have a fit." They stepped inside. The others followed them in, sneaking in to surprise Dad. Brenda put down the food in the kitchen and said hello to Susan. "I hope we got everything."

"Thank you so much. Saved me a trip."

"Not a problem. Just tell me what I can do to help." Bobby came into the kitchen. He put the beer in the fridge. He and his sister started making a rosemary butter to use in the bread. Sharon helped Susan make side dishes. Marcus went to play with the kids. Trey was very possessive of his toys. Katie liked to read, and Hank loved having someone to play with.

Clay had been doing yard work. Fritz went outside to help him. "I don't know why Jr. can't take 30 minutes and deal with his own yard."

Jimmy and Frank got to decorating. They pulled out table clothes, set the flowers in a vase, arranged the dining room.

Clay came inside. "Hey Dad," Bobby casually said as he went to the kitchen.

"Bobby! You came!" Clay was ecstatic and pulled his son into a bear hug.

"How come Bobby gets all of the attention?" Jimmy teased.

"Jimmy! You all came to see your old man. Why didn't you say you were coming?"

"We told Brenda, didn't she tell you?"

Clay was so happy to have his whole family there. He looked at the time. "Crud. I need to pick up Charlene from the airport."

Jimmy said he'd drive. They went to the airport.

Los Angeles

The Loft

The turkey was roasting. Eliza had coated it in salt, pepper, some paprika, a little cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and a hint of chipotle powder. She stuffed the inside with apples and onion. When the turkey was done, she was going to take out the apples and onion, mix it in with some chorizo and stuff it into piquillo peppers. The guests arrived. Jackie finished the sangria and put it in the fridge. Rachel had made an apple spice cake and ice cream using her ice cream maker. David set the table and poured drinks. "This smells amazing," Jackie said. She smelled the stuffing and the cranberry sauce. David was working on the cornbread.

Tommy drank his beer and turned on the football game.

The Flynns

Dinner was delicious. Flynn's son turned his eggplant parmesan and poached egg into a sandwich. It was great. Andrea loved the risotto. Why hadn't she gotten an Italian lover earlier?

The kids told their dad about their jobs and friends. They cleared the table, and Andrea warmed the pie in the oven before she served it. It was delicious, nice and spicy, with the cardamom and the coriander to give it something extra. The ice cream was nice and smooth.

"This is great," the son said, mouth full of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," his sister told him as she elbowed him.

They went back and forth. Flynn shook his head. Andrea rubbed his leg under the table. He grinned.

Kyle's House

Kyle's little brother and sister were running amok. His mother was pulling a turkey out of the oven. The father was drunk, watching football, muttering something about the Packers. Kyle and Rusty were sharing a joint in the attic. The uncle came up. "Save some for me." He took a while to get to where they were. He was kind of slow and kind of chubby. He had a huge beard and a leather jacket. He was a biker and got to the house on his Harley.

The Airport

Charlie arrived with a little suitcase and her backpack. She walked out to see her grandfather.

"Hi Grandpa!"

"Charlene," he gave her a big hug. She sighed, but he was old. He would probably never remember to call her Charlie. She was surprised to see Uncle Jimmy in the car. "Where's lover-boy?"

"Frank's at the house." Charlie could be such an ass.

They got to the house. Everything came together nicely. The candied yams were done. There was a green bean casserole and stuffing. Bobby and Brenda made the rolls and a salad.

Charlie put her stuff upstairs and washed her hands. She got a big hug from Hank. "You must be Marcus. I apologize for whatever my family puts you through this weekend."

"It will be fun," Marcus said.

"Oh childhood innocence," Charlie laughed. She snuck a beer out of the fridge and drank it in the garage.

Sharon heard a noise and peaked out there. "Charlie, why are you in the garage?"

"Can't you see I'm hiding?"

"Are you old enough to be drinking that?"

"Sure I am."

Sharon was skeptical. "Then why are you in the garage."

"Because I don't want to be there when the bickering begins."

"No ones arguing."

"Not yet. Every family holiday is the same. Jr. gets arrogant and starts picking on everyone. Someone says something back. He gets all offended. Everyone gets into a row with somebody. Grandpa tries to keep the peace but he gives up and starts drinking his bourbon. I have had enough arguing these past few weeks. I am going to drink my beer in peace."

"I can't attest to your past family holidays, but I don't plan on bickering with anyone."

"Just brace yourself." Charlie finished her beer and headed inside.

Sharon went back to cooking.

She and Brenda managed to clean the kitchen before dinner. Sharon did more of the cleaning, Brenda did more of the drinking, but she made Sharon a tequila sunrise.

"This is strong," Sharon commented.

"You'll thank me later."

Dinner was ready. They were about to sit down and say grace. "Wash your hands," Brenda told the children. Marcus went but the other kids looked at her blankly. Who was she to tell them to wash their hands. "I don't repeat myself," she said, answering their glares.

They all said grace. The kids got their own table. The ten adults sat at their own table. Marcus thought the turkey was a little bland. He added some stuffing and gravy to it, much better. He had never had green bean casserole before. It was a little odd but the crunchiness was good. He asked the others how they liked Florida.

"It's okay. The weather's nice." Katie was not much for conversation.

"I think it's awesome," said Hank.

"You think everything's awesome," muttered Trey.

"At least he's happy about something," said Katie.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your emo phase is getting old. No one understands you. You're all alone. Everything sucks. It's really quite dull." Katie spent all of her time reading in her room, mostly so she could avoid her brother. She should play with Hank more, but he's so young.

"Katherine Johnson, that is no way to talk to your brother." Susan was not having this.

"Come on Mom. He's been a drag for like a whole year now."

Brenda shook her head. Clay went through a similar phase. He might have never left it. "Runs in the family," Brenda whispered to her husband.

Susan didn't know what to do with them. She tried to talk to Jr. about it but he was always too busy.

Sharon tried to lighten the mood. "I heard the history museum was doing a special show for Thanksgiving on Saturday. Maybe it would be fun to check it out."

"Museums are boring," said Trey.

And so are you. It would be a great fit. Katie said this in her head as she mashed her food. She hated turkey, but if she didn't eat it, Mom would feel bad.

"I like museums," said Hank.

"We could take Hank with us," Bobby offered, "and anyone else who would like to go."

"There's also a pool at the hotel if anyone wants to swim this weekend," Brenda added.

Jr. started talking about his work, boring everyone. He brought in more revenue than any other senior associate, again. He talked about his travel and the stuff people said. He relayed jokes that were bad then and were worse now.

"Jimmy," Brenda started. "How was your drive?"

"It was great," Jimmy answered. "Quebec was lovely. We drove through upstate New York and took photos at Niagara falls. We visited Boston, Philly, and Richmond, and Charleston."

"That sounds nice," Sharon added.

"Too bad we didn't have time to go to New Orleans," Frank lamented. "It's a wonderful city."

"For drunks and whores," Jr. muttered.

"There's much more to New Orleans," Sharon countered. "The music, the parks, the art squares, the food, and the history."

"Also the Saints," Bobby added.

"Don't mind Clay. He just doesn't like fun." Brenda shook her head. Only Clay could hate all of New Orleans.

"I do too."

"When's the last time you did anything remotely fun?" Brenda asked.

Clay didn't have a great answer to that question. "I think my work is fun."

Everyone went silent.

Susan changed the subject. "Would anyone like something to drink?"

"More bourbon please," said Clay Sr. "Some coffee," said Clay Jr.

Brenda went with her and made two tequila sunrises. One for her and one for Charlie.

Susan poured the bourbon and sighed.

"It must be hard."

"What?"

"Working and having three kids, not to mention Clay and his moods, and my father's here too. When do you get a break."

"I don't," she lamented.

"You can't be everything to everyone," Brenda told her. "You are a wife, a mother, a daughter in law, a sister in law, but most importantly, you're your own person. You need to take some time and do something for you."

Susan offered a weak smile. It sounded great when Brenda said it. Making it happen was another story.

Charlie was surprised to be getting juice. She drank it, special juice. Aunt Brenda was the best. The kids were gabbing about Thor 2. Hank loved the special affects. Katie thought the character development was a little lacking. Marcus hadn't seen it yet. Trey checked out of the conversation. He was just staring into space.

Brenda and Bobby drank quickly. They needed quite a liquor shield to survive an evening with their elder brother.

"Charlie's going to be spending the semester at UCLA." Bobby loved opportunities to brag about her.

"Georgetown too tough. Don't feel bad. Brenda almost didn't make it." Jr. could be quite a bitch. Brenda was seething, but instead of speaking, she drank.

"I was invited to study and work in a lab for the semester. I will go back to Georgetown next fall."

"Charlie's great at biology," Bobby added.

"It doesn't run in the family," Brenda commented. Everyone giggled at that.

"Your mother must be proud," Jr. added, ribbing that she wasn't here.

"I didn't tell her," Charlie responded. "She's too busy trying to dig her claws into a sugar daddy."

"Charlene, that's no way to talk about your mother." Clay Sr. tried to keep some order.

"Why do you think she agreed to no alimony? She's trying to get this divorce done asap, so she can attach herself to some music producer. I asked her if she wanted me to visit over the winter break. She said they were going to Europe, and she was complaining that the presidential suites were all booked."

"Bless his soul," Bobby muttered. "He's going to be broke."

Sharon took his hand. She was glad that Bobby was free to be hers.

"Don't feel bad, Dad. Half of marriages fail anyway."

"Charlene."

"They do and honestly, I think you're better off. Sharon actually has a job."

"Charlene."

Sharon laughed. She was snarky but pretty funny.

"Are you divorced too?" Jr. asked her.

"No. I have been separated for 22 years."

"You're still married?" How did Bobby not know that.

"He was very Catholic. I told him to get out, and he left, but we never got divorced." Maybe Sharon should have told him. She doesn't think about him anymore. She kind of forgot.

"Is there such a thing as a common law divorce?" Clay Sr. asked. "22 years. That's an awfully long time.

"I don't think so," Sharon responded.

"Someone had a worse marriage than Brenda?" Clay Jr. couldn't believe it.

Brenda kicked him under the table.

"Ow!" he yelled dramatically.

"Brenda Leigh."

"I did nothing." She leered at him. If he snitched ….

Los Angeles

The Loft

Dinner was awesome. The turkey was well seasoned, tasty, and nice and juicy. The stuffed peppers were delectable. The stuffing was delicious. The cornbread was sweet and a little spicy. Tommy was stuffing his face. "I love this," he mumbled between bites. Everyone was enjoying the food. The sangria put everyone in a jovial mood, and they were telling jokes and ribbing each other. Gabriel felt at home.

"I wish the Chief were here," Jackie lamented. "Could you imagine her after drinking this sangria?"

Everyone laughed. She was the missing link.

The Flynn house. The kids argued over what channel to watch on the tv. Flynn pulled Andrea into his arms. and they danced.

She turned to him and gave him a kiss. "Yuck!" his kids yelled.

Pope's House

He and Molly ate dinner and watched tv. He made a steak, and he gave her the scraps. They watched a bit of the parade and then lounged about the house. It was nice for Molly to finally have a home, and she had an owner who could use some affection. He rubbed her belly. She was very happy.

Florida

After dinner, the Marcus and Hank went to play football outside. Susan went to clear the table, but Fritz and Bobby said they'd take care of it. Brenda went to warm the apple in the oven. She, however, really wanted the pumpkin pie.

Sharon went to put on some tea. Katie was going to go read. Charlie talked to her for a minute.

"You want to go outside for a walk."

"Why?" Katie asked her.

"Do you really want to stay in the house?"

The two were off. They went to a nearby playground and were on the swings.

"You're lucky," Katie said.

"Why?"

"You're an only child. Hank is a sweetie, don't get me wrong, but Trey is really insufferable."

"Being an only child isn't all its cracked up to be. Your parents focus on you all the time. They fight over you. They both put all of their hope in you. Going to college was the best thing I ever did."

"I have a long time before that happens."

"Why don't you try a sport or a club? Hang out with people your own age and escape the drama. It sounds like Trey really needs something to do."

"He plays soccer, but over the past year, he's been really moody, snarky, bossy, nasty. He used to be mean in a funny way. He's not funny anymore."

"Does he take after his father?"

Katie nodded.

"Maybe he just needs more time with his dad. He's probably hoping if he lashes out, then Dad will notice."

"Dad will never notice anyone who is not giving him what he wants. I wish Trey would just accept that."

"You don't think about your father that way, do you?"

"What father. He's just a sperm donor who pays the bills."

Charlie was sad to hear this.

Bobby went to toss around the ball with Marcus and Hank. They started to wrestle. It was fun to be in the fresh air, running around like a kid.

Trey went up to his room. Brenda thought someone should talk to him, but she didn't know what to say. Jimmy and Frank asked him if he wanted to go out with them tomorrow. He declined. They went back downstairs, unsure of what to do.

Jr. was checking his e-mail. He was sending out reminders as to what he wanted at work come Monday morning. No one else was checking their e-mail, so he was probably going to be disappointed.

Dessert was ready. The kids all came down to eat.

The adults slowly wondered in. Brenda grabbed a big slice of pumpkin pie and some whipped cream. Sharon went for a smaller slice of the apple pie. After dessert, the kids wandered off.

Fritz drank coffee and watched the game with Clay Sr..

After dinner, Jr. and Susan had another fight. She thought that Trey should see a counselor or something. Jr. thought it would look bad. "The Johnson family does not need mental help," he shouted. Brenda did not agree with him. Clay went to his study.

Charlie had a chat with Brenda. She told her what Katie said. "I don't know what to do."

Brenda said she would talk to Susan. "You did the right thing," Brenda assured her.

"Then why do I feel lousy."

"Because we all feel lousy. It doesn't take a biologist to see this family has issues."

Charlie laughed at that. She grabbed a beer and joined her father.

Bobby was chatting with Jimmy and Frank They told him more about Montreal.

"Do they have good grass there?"

They were confused by the question, but then they understood. They offered to let him try some. He was on his way off when Charlie came out. "Don't leave me here," she begged.

"We need grown up time."

"Like I don't."

"Charlie, I …."

"Take me with you or I'm getting Sharon." She was helping Hank solve a puzzle.

"You wouldn't."

"Watch me."

Bobby shook his head. The quartet left the building. They found an abandoned lot and shared a joint. Frank didn't smoke. He was the designated driver. Jimmy kept fabreeze in the car.

Brenda had a chat with Susan.

"Your kids are old enough for a chore wheel. We had one growing up."

"That sounds like it would help, but so many of the chores are Clay's. He wants me to go to the dry cleaners three days a week. He doesn't buy any clothes that can go in the wash. I don't know how he changes clothes so much. He always wants me to make something different for him for breakfast and dinner. I must make who knows how many meals a day."

"That's crazy," Brenda told her. "Make one breakfast. Make one dinner. If people don't like it, there's cereal, sandwiches, etc. You can't be everything for everyone," Brenda repeated. "Go to the dry cleaners once a week. Your kids can handle doing dishes, picking up their own rooms, the older ones should be able to do laundry, also, Trey needs to see someone. His behavior is not normal."

"Clay refuses. He says it's for lesser people."

"Don't ask him, get a referral from your pediatrician. You still have time, but once Trey's 18, he'll be out of your hands."

Susan shook her head. She never knew how life got so hard.

She sat down with Brenda and they made a schedule.

The trash went out on Tuesday's and Fridays, which meant on Monday night and Thursday night, Trey needed to take it out.

Clothes went to the dry cleaners on Wednesday, which meant Susan would go.

Trey and Katie were to do their laundry over the weekend, so they had clean clothes for school and to take turns cleaning their bathroom every other week, so each of them would have to clean it once a month.

Hank's jobs would be to set the table, help sweep the floors and go grocery shopping with mom. He liked that anyway. Trey would vacuum on Thursdays and Katie would mop.

Clay Sr. already did the yard work and his own laundry. He also cleaned his own bathroom.

This left Susan with the cooking, the master bathroom, and some laundry, much more manageable.

Susan left her husband to do his own chores. If he wanted to go to the dry cleaners more, he could, and he could do his own laundry. He was a grown man, and Susan was sick of picking up after him.

She sighed in relief.

"This will be a lot easier," Brenda assured her. She joined her husband and father in front of the tv. Where was her brother and Charlie? Maybe they ran away, couldn't blame them.

Eventually, they came back to the house. Frank drove Jimmy back to the hotel. Bobby found Sharon. "Ready to head back?"

They had done most of the puzzle. "We can finish it tomorrow," Hank said. He was glad to have someone to play with him. Sharon smiled, and she left.

Marcus was in Katie's room, writing a letter to his grandfather. He had called him earlier, but he wanted to send him a letter as well.

They all squeezed into the rental car and went back to the hotel. Charlie shared a room with Bobby and Sharon. They drifted to sleep.

Friday

Bobby was awake. Sharon woke up to see him looking out the window.

"What is it?"

"How come you never told me you were married?"

"Honestly, I forgot."

"You forgot you were married?"

"I haven't spoken to him in over 5 years, and I haven't lived with him for over twenty. He came around sporadically, while our kids were growing up and then he disappeared. I don't think about him at all."

"Do you think you'll ever divorce him?"

"I hadn't tried. I had no reason to, before. You want me to divorce him."

"I don't see how else we could ever get married."

She looked at him. He just dropped the M word. She leaned into him. "You want to get married?"

"Of course. I love you." He hadn't said that before.

"I love you, too."

Charlie looked out the corner of her eye to see the love birds. She groaned loudly and went back to bed.

They laughed and embraced each other.

The Johnson House

Susan made one breakfast. She made scrambled eggs and bacon and toast. Clay wanted an omelet. Trey wanted pancakes. She told them scrambled eggs and bacon or they could eat cereal or they could cook their own breakfast. They were both stunned. Who was she and what happened to Susan? Katie ate whatever was in front of her. She never bothered to voice an opinion. Hank loved bacon and eggs, and Clay Sr. ate.

"What time is Aunt Brenda coming?" Hank was always happy to see her. She always had candy.

"I think they're eating breakfast at the hotel and then coming over."

"Breakfast. Why couldn't they eat with us?" Clay Sr. always wanted the family together.

"She didn't want to be any trouble," Susan said. "They'll be here for lunch."

"Brenda's always trouble," said her brother.

"Hush your mouth," his father told him.


	70. Turkey Blues

The hotel breakfast was quite good. It was complimentary with the room. Brenda had the French toast and bacon, so did Fritz. Marcus got waffles. Bobby ate chicken and waffles. Sharon went with an omelette and Charlie got the fruit bowl, sausage and biscuits.

They ate and chatted about the day's plans.

"Are Jimmy and Frank coming?" Charlie asked.

"I don't think they're coming until dinner," Bobby said.

"Lucky," Brenda muttered.

"What's wrong with visiting the family," Marcus asked.

"It's Junior," Bobby answered for her. "He's such a drag."

"He is rather snarky," Fritz said.

"Charlie is snarky," Brenda answered. "He's just a spoiled brat."

Charlie laughed at that.

"Well, he'll get put in his place."

"Brenda," Friz looked at her. "What did you do?"

"Just a public service." Brenda grinned. Clay would die when he learned that Susan wasn't going to be his door mat anymore.

After breakfast, Charlie did some homework. Marcus dropped his letter in the mailbox. Bobby and Sharon went for a stroll. She called Rusty to check in. He said dinner was great. The table was swarming with food. Everyone was happy and loud and all the adults were drunk and there was pie and cake and ice cream and cider and afterwards, everyone was ready to sleep. He didn't mention that they let him drink too.

They went back to the Johnson house. Clay of course was happy to see his two kids. Bobby did some work on the attic that required a latter. Sharon helped Hank finish his puzzle. Charlie told Katie about college, skipping over the drugs and the sex, she focused on school and friends, and living without parents. Trey kept working on his model airplanes. Brenda showed Marcus old photo albums of the family. She told him about her mother and about growing up in Atlanta. The different escapades they got into, the neighborhood feuds, the celebrations.

Susan started to make lunch. Katie and Charlie came down and she offered their help. Susan was taking the leftover turkey and making a soup and some sandwiches. Charlie chopped the vegetables. Katie boiled the water. She hadn't taken an interest in cooking before, but cooking with Charlie was fun. Susan managed to slip away, leaving the cooking to the girls. Sharon came downstairs. She wanted a drink. It was vacation after all.

She looked in the fridge, an already open bottle of white wine. She poured a glass.

"It's not even five yet," Katie said.

"It's after five somewhere," Sharon retorted. They laughed.

Bobby came in next. He grabbed a beer. "Dad put me to work. It's Clay's house. Why doesn't he fix shit!"

Charlie laughed. Katie gave an I told you so look.

Brenda appeared, looking for wine. No red, just white. She took it and poured the rest into a pitcher. She added some liquor and fruit and poured in some juice. She poured herself a glass. "Hard liquor already," Katie ribbed her.

"Your father's harping is driving me nuts. Don't track dirt here. What are you doing over there. Don't touch that. Why can't you sit still? AHHHH!" Brenda was chugging her drink at this point. Susan came in, feeling relaxed. She didn't have to cook. Brenda poured her a glass. "Trust me," she said.

Susan drank a sip. It was strong.

Lunch was ready and everyone gathered round. Sharon looked for more wine. "Where did it go?" Charlie pointed to the pitcher. Sharon poured herself a glass.

"That is strong."

"Thank Aunt Brenda."

Sharon sipped slowly. The soup was delicious. Clay Jr. thought it was too spicy.

"Then don't eat it," Charlie answered.

Katie laughed.

Everyone talked at once. No one listening to anyone else. It was a short, rowdy lunch. Afterwards, the dishes were left everywhere and people wondered off. Brenda stacked them all and put them in the sink. Her way of washing dishes was to fill the sink with soap water and leave them there.

Clay started fussing about his suits.

"Is the dry cleaners open today?" Jr. asked.

"Not until Monday."

"You will need to take my clothes in."

"I take the clothes in on Wednesday."

"Excuse me."

"From now on, I go to the dry cleaners to drop of clothes on Wednesdays."

"I want my suit there on Monday."

"Then drop it off before work. They're open early."

Jr. was pissed. "Why can't you go on Monday?"

"I can go. I, however, am not going to. I spend all day working just to come home and run around, cleaning after everyone else. Not any more. It's about time that the members of this house took more responsibility."

"Excuse me?"

Susan returned with her schedule. She read it aloud.

"I'm not taking my suits to the cleaners."

"Then, you can wear dirty clothes to work." She could feel the sangria.

Susan ended the conversation and went back upstairs.

What got into her? Clay waited for her to come around.

Brenda went up to the attic to see her brother and father. "What's going on up here?"

"Fixing Clay's house, since he's too lazy to do it."

"Bobby!"

"A man ought to fix his house or at least hire someone with all the money he's got. He works all day for what, to stick the money in his 401k."

"I don't know what to do with that fool," Dad admitted.

Brenda offered to return with beer. Her father requested bourbon. She went downstairs to grab some drinks.

"What is it with you guys? always drinking!" Her brother was there, staring her down.

"Only when we're here." Brenda took the drinks and went back upstairs. Alas, the sangria was dead. Brenda had to settle for tequila.

Clay and Bobby grabbed their drinks and started to drink. Once everything was done, Clay fished out a cigar. "Should you be smoking dad? You had cancer."

"I lived this long, didn't I. What's a cigar gonna change?"

"And you're heart!"

"Let it go, Brenda. You can't change the man."

Brenda knew that. Clay only took a couple of puffs before he got tired of it and handed it to Bobby. Bobby took a puff. "This cigar is good." Clay found it when he was cleaning his room.

"I bet this is where his salary goes."

Brenda laughed. She wanted some too. What's a couple of puffs? Marcus came upstairs.

"You want to try some?"

"Bobby, he's eleven."

"You're right. When you're thirteen."

"Bobby."

"That's how old I was when grandpa handed me a cigar."

"Grandpa was a nut. He taught me to drive at 12."

"Is that why you're such a bad driver," Clay asked.

They all laughed at that.

Bobby put out the cigar. Let's head downstairs.

Clay was grouchy. No one respected him, no matter how much money he made. His wife had become contemptuous. He smelled cigar smoke. He saw his family slinking out of the attack. Of course, they all went without him. They even brought a kid up with them.

Fritz noticed his son smelled like smoke. "What's that smell?"

"Uncle Bobby had a cigar."

Sharon came out, noticing the scent as well. It reminded her of growing up in New York. Her grandfather loved cigars.

Charlie borrowed Susan's car, so she could go to CVS. She went there and bought some gum, but she was looking for something else. She found some kids smoking cigarettes in an empty lot. "Perfect." Charlie bought some weed and headed back. She called her uncle on the say. She had just what she needed to make brownies. They rented a hotel suite and had their own kitchen. They picked her up from the house, and they baked some special dessert.

The brownies cooled and Frank sliced them up and put them in an airtight container. He wrapped the container in paper towels. He then filled a big bag with activated carbon and put the container of brownies in there. "We need to hide the smell," Frank explained.

Charlie smiled. This weekend was going to be fun after all. They made a batch of sugar cookies that were plain. This way, they could eat something once they felt the affects of the brownies. The trio came back to the house. They offered to cook dinner. Jimmy and Frank went to the fish market that morning. They came back with lobsters, shrimp, scallops and mussels.

Susan gave them some money to defray the cost of dinner. There were a lot of mouths to feed. The trio was going to make paella and pork chops. Jimmy chopped the vegetables. Frank cleaned the seafood and put it all in a brine. Charlie got her father, and he heated up the grill. She seasoned the chicken and threw it on. Frank took the garlic and added it to some butter. He opened the mussels in the butter and then added the vegetables and some chicken stock. Charlie flipped the chicken and later moved it to a higher level of the grill to cook slowly.

She grilled the shrimp. Jimmy half cooked the lobsters in boiling water. He pulled it out and cut open the lobster. He took them outside for Charlie to grill. She brushed them in butter and grilled them. Frank toasted the rice in a big dish in the oven. He took the rice out and set it on the stove. He added the broth.

Brenda came down, smelling amazing things. She offered to help. She saw they were mostly done, so she made them drinks. She was greatly appreciated. She made a quick salad. She saw all the leftover stuffing and the bacon and got an idea. She wrapped the stuffing in the bacon and set it in the oven. She saw the left over casserole, cut it into squares, dredged them in flour and froze it. After 15 minutes, Brenda deep fried them and got little, crunchy, green bean casserole squares.

Charlie took everything off the grill. She quickly seared the scallops, not cooking them all the way through, so they could finish cooking with the rice. She added spices, the diced chicken, shrimp, mussels, lobster, all of it together. She added the scallops and closed the lid. She turned the stove on low and let the flavors blend together.

She then started to sear the pork chops. Once they got a nice crust, she moved them up on the grill. Brenda took the lid off the paella and cut off the stove. No one wants overcooked shrimp.

Frank ate a brownie. He gave one to Jimmy. "What about me?" Brenda asked. They looked at each other.

"Don't be mad," Frank said, "but they're enhanced."

Brenda caught their drift. "Too bad, they smell excellent."

Charlie ate one too. She took another for her father. Brenda was surprised to see Bobby eating one.

"Won't Sharon get mad?"

"It's just one. She won't notice."

Brenda shook her head. Jimmy hid the evidence, and it was time for dinner.

Everyone came down. There was a lot going on at the table. Hank liked the fried casserole squares. Katie liked her pork chop. It had a nice glaze on it. Tray had on idea what they heck he was eating. He was scared to ask. Jr. wasn't. "What the heck is this?"

"It's paella."

"Looks gross."

"Don't be rude," his father scolded him.

"You can't scold me at my own table."

"I brought you into this world, and I'll take you out."

Charlie was sick of him. All you do is complain about food. If you don't like, why don't you try cooking? Oh wait. You don't know how. She thought this all in her head. The brownie made her rather relaxed.

Brenda snickered. "I think it's great."

"Me too," said Fritz.

Sharon enjoyed hers as well. Bobby was chomping on his meat.

Marcus liked it all, except the shrimp. Hank saw it and poached them off his plate.

"Hank, don't be rude." His mother told him.

"He can have it," Marcus said.

"Yum! Shrimp."

Clay Sr. bit into a stuffing ball. "This is awesome."

"Didn't your doctor say to not eat so much bacon?" Susan worried about him.

"My doctor is a drag!"

"Like my brother," Brenda muttered.

Bobby giggled, so did Frank and Jimmy, not that they knew why he was giggling.

They talked about tomorrow. Hank was excited about the museum. Charlie planned on eating a brownie before it or too.

After dinner, the kids ran their separate ways. Brenda and Charlie helped Susan clear the dishes. Fritz and Bobby moved the furniture, so everything was in its normal place.

Charlie offered Brenda a sugar cookie. Brenda looked at it unsure if ….

"It's just a cookie."

Brenda heard that and took it. It was tasty, but it had no chocolate. "Thanks, Charlie."

"Do you want any enhancements before the museum?"

Brenda was about to say no when she heard her brothers yelling. "Hold that thought."

She went outside. "Out of all of the disgusting things I have ever …."

"Disgusting, who are you to call me disgusting?"

"Boys, what are you doing?"

Jr. looked right at his sister. "Did you know these two perverts are together?"

"Did you not?" Jimmy was a grown man with his own money and he voluntarily lived with another man, and they were always together. Was there another explanation?

"And they're getting married."

"Congratulation."

"What! Are you kidding me?"

"No. Why shouldn't they have the right to suffer through marriage like everyone else."

Jimmy smiled. "Will you help me tell Dad?"

"I'll talk to him for you. I'm his favorite." Brenda brought her dad some bourbon. She sat him down for a talk.

"I won't have this in my house," Clay said.

"We're not getting married here, duh! And don't worry. We won't be back."

"No!" Charlie yelled. "You two make this place tolerable."

"Sorry Charlie, but I won't be insulted by my impish brother. We're leaving."

Charlie hugged them.

Bobby and Sharon were getting it on in Clay's BMW. They didn't hear the commotion.

"I've always wanted to do it in a luxury car," Sharon admitted.

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know. The commercials make them look so comfortable, so stylish. It's like having sex covered in gold dust."

Bobby giggled. "That is awesome. Clay will kill us if he catches us."

"We'd better hurry then." He had Sharon in the backseat. Her skirt was hiked up and her legs were on his shoulder and on the front seat.

Clay Sr. was confused. "You mean all this time, they weren't just roommates."

"No. They weren't"

"Why didn't he just tell me?"

"He didn't want you to be disappointed in him. Growing up in the south when we did, you know what times were like. What they're still like some times."

"I would never be disappointed in him, or any of you, except maybe Jr. but that's beside the point."

"Well there's more. They're getting married."

"They can do that?"

"They can in New York."

"Knowing my kids. He better sign a pre-nup."

Brenda giggled. "Jr. wasn't happy with the news. Jimmy and Frank left and I don't think they'll be coming back to the house."

"Like hell they won't be. He's my son, and we have talking to do. Jr. can put a sock in it."

Clay got up to call his youngest son.

Fritz and Marcus were tossing the football out back. Brenda came out to check on them. "What was the arguing about?" Marcus asked her.

"My brother is upset because Jimmy and Frank are getting married."

"What's the big deal?"

"I don't know. Do you want any cookies?"

Marcus ran right to the kitchen. She said the magic words. Fritz went to talk to his wife. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"This must have been a big shock."

"I'm not surprised he's gay. I'm surprised he finally told the family about it."

"You knew."

"He's my brother. It was kind of obvious."

"Where's Bobby?"

"Beats me." Brenda heard the music from upstairs go way up. She went to check it out. Rage Against the Machine blared from Trey's room. She knocked on his door. No answer. She pounded on the door.

"What!"

"You're going to blow the house down."

"My bad!" His eyes were sunken in. He looked awful.

"What happened to you?" His pupils were huge.

"Nothing."

Brenda peeked over his shoulder. She saw a magazine with a buff man on it. "What's that?"

He tried to shut the door, but she was too quick. "Did you hear your father arguing with Uncle Jimmy?"

A single tear fell from Trey's face. Brenda knew why he was so withdrawn, why he was so desperate for his father's approval.

"It's okay. Uncle Jimmy has a perfectly normal life, and so will you."

"If dad knew, he'd kick me out."

"Why would you think that?"

"He said, if any boy of mine were a faggot, I'd kick is gay ass out."

Brenda sighed. "Is there anyone at school you can talk to?"

"I live in Florida." That was a good point. "I hate it here, can you please take me with you to California?"

Brenda wished she could. "I can't just take you from your parents, but if you are ever in trouble, you can come to me, or Jimmy or your grandfather. I don't know what's with my brother, but there's nothing wrong with you." She gave him her cell phone number. "If you want to get out of the house tomorrow, I'd be glad to take you with me. We don't have to go the museum."

Unfortunately, Trey was depressed and scared, like many teens in his situation, particularly those who grow up around homophobic people. All he wanted was his father's love, but he felt like he would never be good enough.

Brenda wanted to help, but she didn't know what to do. Should she talk to his mother? How would she react? What about her dumb brother? She wanted to talk to Fritz. He always knew how to stay level-headed.


	71. Ties that Bind

Back in Los Angeles

Flynn and Andrea spent Friday lounging around the house. Downtown was crazy due to Black Friday, and neither had any interest in the ruckus.

The Loft

Eliza sketched David as he slept. He was all sprawled out, trying to digest all the food he crammed into himself the day before. She loved to watch him sleep. Her sketch captured the strong lines of his back muscles along with the soft lines of the sheets. David in bed was a perfect combination of hard and soft and the scene was very evocative.

Pope's House

Pope took Molly on her first walk through the neighborhood. She sniffed her way around, learning the new landscape. The neighbors were surprised. They never saw Pope walking anywhere these days, and since when did he have a dog.

Estelle's House

Estelle and her beau argued over how much she spent shopping this morning. Simon and Travis ignored them and played x-box. They started with Super Smash Bros. Melee, but Travis preferred NFL Live. His turn would come, eventually.

Kevin's House

Rusty was beat. Yesterday, he got stuffed with food, booze, weed and more food. He needed time to recover. For Kevin's household, being loaded with booze and or weed was normal. They were back to their normal selves while Rusty slept it off.

Back to Atlanta

Bobby and Sharon slipped back into the house. Her hair was a mess and their clothes were all wrinkled. Sharon thought she could get to the bathroom before anyone saw her, but Charlie was lurking around the corner. "Walk of shame," Charlie hissed, giggling as she went into the kitchen. Sharon turned bright red and went into the bathroom. Comb hair, redo makeup, straighten out clothes, deep breath, another deep breath. _Get it together, Raydor!_

Bobby was a dude. Who cared if he looked a mess? He often did. Fritz went upstairs looking for his wife. He saw Marcus and Hank building a fort, and Katie was in the corner, reading another book. Did she ever play?

He approached Trey's room and was about to knock on the door, when he heard a sobbing sound. He heard his wife and there and turned back around. He'd talk to her later. He was on his way downstairs when he heard a loud row.

"I will not stand for this in my own house!" Clay hollered.

"It's my house too," insisted Susan.

"I don't see why you and your brother can't just," Clay Sr. was trying to negotiate between the two, but it was hard. They never got along.

"Jimmy's going straight to hell, and he's not taking me or my family with him."

"It's not contagious," Susan retorted, and "who knows who's going to hell. It's not like you're an angel."

"Excuse me! I will NOT …."

Fritz shook his head. The Johnsons were ready to implode. Where's Bobby?

Bobby and Charlie were drinking beers. "You know why they're yelling?" Bobby asked.

"Something about Jimmy being gay or whatever."

"Well no SHIT! He's hasn't had a woman in who knows how long. If he weren't gay, I'd be concerned."

"Not to mention his love for fine wines and decorating. He's kind of super-gay. Anyhow, he and Frank are getting married."

"They didn't invite me!"

"Not yet, Dad. I'm sure you're invited."

Sharon returned to the living room.

Charlie had a smirk on her face.

"Shut up!" Sharon said before Charlie could say anything snide.

"So what's that screaming about."

"Clay's mad that Jimmy and Frank are doing it, not that it's any of his business anyhow, and ..."

"Wow Dad. You would have made a great diplomat."

"Oh hush, Child. Anyhow, it's typical Clay Jr. Always judging everyone. Always holier than thou. Never mind all of the ratchet things he's done. Somehow, he's always beyond reproach. Anyway, why don't you grab a beer. This is going to be a good one!"

"You're just going to drink and listen to the screaming match."

"Well boxing matches costs money, so yes, this is our Friday night entertainment." Charlie gave Sharon an I told you so look.

Trey could hear the yelling, and he knew his father would never accept him. Brenda tried to console him, but she could hear it too. He wasn't dumb. What could she say?

"Trey, I know it's hard, but you're not alone. Everyone struggles with trying to get their parents approval."

"Not you. Grandpa talks about how great you are, all the time."

"Especially me. My dad, and I had a rocky relationship for a long time."

"Really? Why?"

"He didn't want me to go to Georgetown. He didn't want me to go to the 'Department of State.' He didn't want me to become a police officer. He wasn't thrilled that I had an affair with a married man.

"You did what?"

"It's a long story."

"I got married and had a bitter divorce. I moved in with Fritz before we got married. Dad stopped speaking to me when he found out. I never had kids, and when Mom and Dad would come to visit, I was always too busy working. It took me a long time to settle in my own two shoes and even longer for my Dad and I to see eye to eye."

"I never would have guessed any of this, not by the way he talks."

"We all have our struggles, but deep down. I know my dad loves me, and I know your dad loves you too." This was a bit of a lie. Brenda wasn't really sure if her brother could love anyone, but who was she to burden a kid with that issue.

"What do I do?"

"You just be who you are. Find what makes you happy. Enjoy life and all that it offers. You can't change your father."

Trey hugged her. "Can we keep this talk between the two of us?"

"Of course. I won't tell anyone."

Fritz wondered into Hank's room. "Is your father always like this?"

"Like what?"

"I think my dad meant the yelling."

"Usually, he's not here. There's only yelling when he is here."

Fritz shook his head. He knocked on Katie's door.

"Enter, if you dare," She said as she removed her earplugs

"Hey Katie. How are you holding up?"

"Fine, just fine."

"Do you always read with earplugs?"

"Only when my dad is yelling, which is every time he doesn't get his way."

"Does the screaming every bother you?" Fritz's dad was a yeller. It wasn't the greatest of childhoods.

"Here's the deal. Dad yells all the time because he's perfect and everyone should do what he says when he says it, that is when he bothers to come home at all. Mom is exhausted from trying to cater to everyone else, and she never makes time for herself. She acts sweet and bubbly, but she resents us all because she feels trapped. Trey deals by locking himself in his room, blasting loud music and making snide remarks as soon as he's forced to interact with anyone. Hank plays dumb, so people will see him as a baby and pay attention to him because he's afraid of being abandoned, and I sit here, reading my books, learning about places far better than here, ignoring everyone, so I won't feel the sting when I look up and realize they don't notice I'm alive. Happy! I charge by the hour, btw."

Fritz was stunned. Katie was definitely a very observant and self-aware child. "Have you ever tried talking to your parents about this?"

"My dad isn't a talker. My mom, bless her soul, is too fragile. She's barely keeping it together as she is. I just stay out of the way."

Katie went back to her book. Fritz wondered downstairs. "How can you all put up with this?"

"Clay's always been like this," said Bobby. "I only came here to see Dad."

"I only came here cause it was warm," said Charlie. Everyone looked at her. "And free booze. I forgot to add that."

Sharon sighed. "I don't get it either. Are all of your family gatherings like this?"

"No. Sometimes Clay has to work, then they're awesome."

"I don't mind the arguing, so long as I'm not the subject." Charlie opened a new cold one. "Speaking of, where's Aunt Brenda?"

"She's upstairs with Trey, and what do you mean speaking of?"

"She inspires plenty family arguments. Why are you always visiting her and giving her money? Why didn't she have us at her wedding? How come she can't remember my kids' names? Blah! Blah! Blah! No wonder she never comes to holidays. Who could blame her?"

"She's here now."

"Missing in action. I wouldn't be surprised if she was hiding out in riot gear, getting ready for the inquisition."

"I'm not hiding," Brenda said as she emerged from Trey's room.

"Join the family fun. I say we take bets on what happens next."

"Charlie!"

"Fine. Let's just drink." Charlie opened another cold one. The brownie wore off and she wanted to save the rest for Saturday. Uncle Jimmy had most of them at the hotel. Charlie hid two in her backpack.

"You're just going to drink through this?" Fritz asked her.

"Yep!" She started to chug.

The screaming continued.

"Jimmy is no brother to me!"

"Do you ever think of anyone other than yourself?" Susan yelled back. "Did it not occur to you that you have a whole family, none of whom are interested in picking sides. "Your brother has done a lot for this family and for you to cast him aside, it's just so selfish!" Susan slammed the door and left. Jimmy was there when she had a difficult pregnancy with Hank. He was there when she needed someone to talk to or someone to watch the kids, when Clay went away on business. She thought of him as a brother.

"Are you happy now, Dad?"

"Am I happy? Don't blame your failing marriage on me. Maybe if you spent some time with your wife instead of holing up in that office of yours..."

Clay Sr. left, exhausted and exasperated with his son.

It was clearly time to go. Fritz rounded up everyone, and they said their goodbyes. They all crammed into the car, not speaking on the drive home.

"Can you put on the music Dad," Marcus asked him, the silence driving him mad. Fritz put on the radio and continued to drive.

They got back to the hotel. Charlie and Bobby were wrestling. The beer brought out the rowdiness in them. Sharon lied down and called her children. She wanted to tell them how much she loved them, and she hoped their relationship would never look like this mess.

Fritz called his sister. Brenda sat down with Marcus.

"Sorry the Johnsons are such a ratchet mess."

"It's not your fault. I think some of them are fun, but why is your brother so angry?"

"I don't know. For as long as I can remember, he has had a chip on his shoulder. Look at him the wrong way or say the wrong thing, and he goes off."

"Will he and Jimmy ever talk again?"

"I'm sure they will. I don't know if it will be a pleasant conversation.

"I'll tell you one thing. I'd much rather be a bastard than grow up in that house."

Brenda bust out laughing. "I should have asked earlier. Did you want to call your grandparents?"

"I called them from Dad's phone after dinner. They said they were going to take me to a festival for New Years."

"I'm sure it will be great." Brenda didn't tell him that his grandparents were coming to LA for Christmas. She thought it would be a great surprise.

"So what's going on with this museum tomorrow?"

"Well there's other museums and a park nearby. So I thought we could do a walk through of the history museum and after lunch, we could see what people wanted to do."

Fritz came back to the room. "Do you ever worry about your brother's temper?"

"Clay? He's all bark and no bite."

"I know that, but all that yelling isn't good for kids."

"I'm sure it's not, but Clay does what he wants to do. He won't listen to reason. I'm just glad Dad is there to help with the kids. They have taken quite a liking to him, and I know they mean a lot to him."

Fritz smiled and kissed his wife on the forehead. Her tummy growled. "I wonder if Charlie has more cookies." Brenda went down the hall to investigate.

Charlie was tickling her father. "HAHAHAHA! OH STOP HAHAHAHHA!" She was quite a tickler. He eventually got her in a headlock and pulled her away.

"Be careful, you too!"

"Yes Mom!" They yelled in unison. Bobby put her down. They heard a knock on the door.

"Who goes there."

"It's Brenda. Charlie, do you have any cookies?"

Charlie giggled. She opened the door. "You are such a sugar whore."

"Charlie!"

"What! She is." Charlie handed Brenda a stack of cookies.

"You're amazing." Brenda nibbled on one.

"Don't you forget it."

"Well, hopefully, the museum will be fun tomorrow. Good night."

Brenda went back to her room.

Marcus took a cookie. Fritz slipped his arms around his wife.

They eventually all fell asleep.

Saturday

Marcus woke up first. He was ready to eat. He looked over. Brenda was out for the count. Dad was too. Marcus took a shower and got dressed. He also looked in Brenda's purse for candy. She had some. Yay for chocolate.

Brenda rolled into her husband. "Good Morning," she murmured into his ear. He rolled over and kissed her. They seemingly forgot Marcus was in the room until ….

"Can we get breakfast now?"

The kiss broke. Brenda couldn't wait until they had their own bedroom. Brenda crawled into the shower. Fritz joined her. He started to wash her back.

"Don't tease me," she started. "I want you in the worst way possible." He smiled. He pulled her towards him, aggressively kissing her as his hands found her ass. Her hips began to grind against his leg, and she was quite wet for him.

"Can you be quiet?" he whispered as he rubbed her clit.

She stifled a moan and nodded, "but I might need to bite your shoulder."

He pulled her close and began to kiss her neck. She started to stroke him and she guided him inside. They looked into each other's eyes and went hard and fast. Brenda ended up biting his chest to avoid screaming as he thrusted into her. Her legs wrapped around his hips and he had her pressed into the wall. Her nipples ached as they dug into him. "Fuck me," she hissed into his ear. He obliged, and he held her as she shook violently. He came inside of her. They dried off and got dressed.

Brenda called her brother's room. Charlie was passed out still. Sharon just got out the shower. Bobby was watching sports center. "Breakfast. I'm starved." He looked at his sleeping child. He slapped her stomach. "Wake up, Charlie!"

"Dad! I need to sleep."

"You drink too much beer yesterday! Too bad. Time to eat."

Charlie was a little hung over. "I can't deal with light."

Sharon took out her sunglasses and put them on Charlie. "Here you go."

Charlie sighed. She took a quick shower and got dressed.

Charlie felt better once there was coffee and food in front of her. Bobby ordered an Irish coffee. Charlie stole it.

"That's mine."

"I need this." She started to chug.

Fritz shook his head. Marcus and Brenda stuffed their faces, stuffed French toast, sausage, eggs. They were in heaven.

After breakfast, they drove to the Johnson house. Susan drove Clay Sr. and the kids and they all went to to the museum, except for Clay Jr. Jimmy and Frank met them there, and they all went to explore the history museum. Katie snuck off by herself. Hank followed around Marcus. Trey and Brenda and Charlie went one direction. Sharon and Bobby went another. Jimmy and Clay Sr. started at the top and worked their way down. Frank, Fritz and Susan found themselves together.

Charlie ate a brownie before they got there. She was in a chipper mood. Brenda didn't ask why. Charlie was their tour guide, pointing out things she learned from class and telling stories, mostly true about the events that the exhibits represented.

Sharon was excited to explore. Bobby was excited to be alone with Sharon. "Want to ditch this place and make out?"

"Bobby!"

"We could do more, but I thought making out was a good start."

"This place is fun."

"Not as fun as your mouth or your …."

"You nasty boy," she chided playfully.

He wrapped his arm around her. "Alright, let's explore this place."

Susan was actually a quite interesting person. She was the local manager for a successful burger chain and she used to travel extensively. She told Frank and Fritz about her days in Europe. Once, she got so drunk in Amsterdam that she woke up in Brussels. She didn't know what to do, so she just went to a cafe and ate and ate until she could come up with a plan. Apparently, her drunk self thought train hopping at night was a good idea. She longed for those days, but once you're married and with children, everything changes. "You still got your golden years," Frank said. "You could travel again."

"I hope so."

Clay and Jimmy spoke mostly about normal stuff. They kept looking at each other, wondering if one of them was going to bring up the subject that was on both of their minds. Neither of them did though. No one wanted to kill the moment.

Brenda was a little bored. She could use an enhancement of her own. She whispered to Charlie, "got any booze?"

"Flask is in here." Brenda took it and hid in the alcove. She took a couple of shots.

"Aunt Brenda," of course, Katie found her.

"Busted. What's up sprout?"

"Do you always drink in the mornings?"

"Only on Johnson family holidays."

"Touche. Is it good?"

"I prefer tequila to bourbon but it'll do. Do you always hide from the family too?"

"You could say that."

Charlie and Travis ditched the exhibits and just started to chat.

"What's it like, being in college?"

"It's great. You can drink whenever you want. No parents to tell you what to do. You're finally treated like a grown up."

"What about dating?"

"I'm probably not the best person to ask. My boyfriend cheated on me, so I dumped him earlier this month."

"That's too bad."

"I'm actually glad to be rid of him. He was way too moody anyway."

"Any new guys on the horizon?"

"Not yet. I'm going away for the semester. Maybe when I get back."

"I bet California will be great. I wished I lived there."

"It's pretty chill. In and Out Burger, really great weed. You didn't hear that from me."

"I'm from Florida. Kids here do coke in the bathroom during lunch."

"Damn! I thought Atlanta was bad."

"Nope!"

They laughed.

Brenda and Katie appeared.

"You actually found her. I'm surprised she didn't run off to Narnia."

Katie sighed. "Somehow, I can never escape."

"You found me, remember."

"Yeah, being a lush."

Charlie laughed at that. "Speaking of," Charlie finished her flask.

"Someone might see you," Brenda hissed.

"What are they going to do? Kick me out of a free show."

Brenda shook her head. She looked over. Hank stole a spear from an exhibit and was chasing Marcus with it. "Hey boys, stop that!"

The others were cracking up. Bobby saw the fray and he thought it was funny, too. Sharon tried to stop the boys. Marcus found a spray bottle and began to spray Hank with it. Hank was now running through the exhibit.

Trey found a big mask and put it on. "I am Prince of Plenty. Give me all your snacks."

Katie and Charlie were cracking up.

Clay and Jimmy saw the mess, but couldn't see who it was. "Those kids are behaving terribly."

"Where are their parents?"

Susan had gotten coffee from the cafe. She returned to see a security guard scolding her son.

"What's the problem?"

"Is he your son?"

"Yes."

"He was playing cowboys and indians and running around with a spear."

"Hank!"

"Sorry, Mom."

"I apologize. He will not do it again."

They both saw Trey chasing Marcus in a mask. Charlie and Katie were laughing and doing some type of dance.

Brenda got tired chasing them. She was also a little tipsy. She sat there doing nothing. Fritz and Frank took all of the kids out before they got thrown out.

"What were you thinking, wearing a tribal mask?"

"I am Prince of Plenty. Feed me or you will be sacrificed."

All of the kids bust out laughing. It was good to have Trey back.

Fritz shook his head. "Brenda, I thought you were watching them."

"I was, but they're fast, and I got tired." She was a little drunk and giggly.

Bobby and Sharon were still in the museum. They looked outside and saw the group. "What happened?"

"Uncle Fritz made us leave," Hank said.

"You were all going to get kicked out."

"For stealing a plastic spear?"

"You saw them."

"That thing is obviously fake. What's the big deal?"

Charlie cracked up. Her father was ridiculous.

Fritz sighed. Maybe we should go somewhere else.

"The aquarium," said Hank.

"Just don't steal any fish," said Brenda.

Everyone laughed at that. To the aquarium they went. Bobby asked Charlie for a brownie. He shoved it in his mouth clandestinely. She went to Jimmy for a refill.

Brenda saw her. "Tisk, tisk."

"Do you want one?"

Brenda looked at her.

"You had fun last time. I know you did."

"I can't risk my job."

"Oh yeah. You work for the man."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not. It's just, different."

After the aquarium, they went for lunch. Hank wanted a chili dog. Trey wanted pizza. Katie favored the fried mac and cheese. Luckily, the food court had it all. Bobby and Charlie came back with a mountain of food.


	72. Last Night in Florida

Saturday Afternoon

Gabriel had made plans for the day. He kept Eliza in the dark. Right now, they were having a picnic. While Eliza was sleeping, Gabriel prepared quite a feast. He made chipotle mayonnaise to go with roast turkey and provolone. He made a potato salad and those microwave chocolate cakes in a mug. He also had whipped cream to go on top and homemade peach iced tea to wash it all down.

Everything was delicious. "How did you make this all? I didn't see you."

"I had to be quiet. I got up early and started cooking everything while you were still in bed. When you were in the shower, I brought everything to the car."

She kissed him softly. "You're wonderful." They finished their lunch and Gabriel took them to their next destination. About twenty minutes later, they were pulling up to an abandoned building. Eliza didn't see much to look at. "What is this?"

"You'll see." He took her hand and led her around to the side. She was shocked. It was her painting, on the side of the building, but it was different. She was painted into it."

"How did you?"

"Well I found our friend, and I asked him if he could take your painting and add you to it."

"I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything." He kissed her passionately.

Flynn's House

Andrea and Flynn were repainting the house. Paint was on sale at Home Depot and the walls looked a bit faded. It was also a chance for Andrea to add some of her own touches to the house. The living room was first. It was once green, but now it was a burnt sienna with a light orange accent wall. It really brought out the fire place and brightened the room. It took a while to prep and paint, but the finished result was great.

They cleaned up the room and went outside as it aired out. "Your living room looks great," she told him.

"Our living room is perfect." He kissed her, transferring paint from her nose to his

Kyle's House

They always had a cookout after Thanksgiving. The leftover food got repurposed into soups, casseroles and sandwiches and they grilled sausages and burgers to eat along with them.

Kyle turned some of his special butter and the leftover chocolate cake into mud pies. They were quite decadent. He invited John and Kevin over to share in the delights. This was going to be quite an evening.

Kyle found it amusing that Rusty went weak at the knees when John was around. He loved to tease him about it. The boys were playing football in the backyard. Of course, John was playing sans shirt. His pecs were huge and his abs were glistening in the sun. As Rusty learned the hard way, trying to run with an erection sucked.

Florida

The kids were running around in the Park. Charlie, Bobby and Frank snuck away to smoke a joint. Sharon and Fritz were debating the merits of Irish food vs German food. It's no surprise where each person fell in the debate. Clay was reading his newspaper. Frank and Brenda were chatting in French. Is was fun to speak French. Brenda didn't do it very often.

Sharon looked over at them. Isn't that cute. Fritz looked over and teased her. "Hey Brenda. Stop flirting with your brother's boyfriend."

Brenda stuck out her tongue at him. She would flirt with Fritzi in French if he knew it. He should know German. What kind of German was he?

"This is some great shit," Bobby told his brother.

"You live in Cali now. Don't you have good stuff?"

"I don't have a source, outside of Rusty and his boyfriend."

"You're in California and can't find weed. Really Dad?"

"Well, you'll have to find me some when you get to LA."

"Isn't that great father/daughter bonding!"

"Why don't you just get a medical card?"

"I can do that?"

Charlie shook her head. Her father had a lot to learn. She started to chew gum. She gave a piece to her father and to her uncle. Jimmy started pumping this strange chamber.

"What is that?"

"It infuses the smell of papaya. It's great for masking the smell of weed."

"But now, we'll smell like Papaya."

Jimmy had some papaya slices and started to eat them. "Want some."

"You're weird, but I like it." They enjoyed the snack and then headed back.

"I can't believe you think German bar food is better than Irish bar food."

"Of course it's better. Who wouldn't want schnitzel over shepherds pie?"

"We Irish can make a lot more than Shepherds pie."

"Oh yeah! Fish and chips and blood pudding."

"I've had enough of your blasphemy. You are coming to a proper Irish dinner and you will eat your words."

"I can't wait." Fritz won out. "And when you have a German dinner, you will eat yours."

"Fine!"

Brenda and Frank were making fun of both of them in French. It was quite amusing.

Charlie and her crew returned to the rest of the family.

"How much do you want to bet they were toking?" Frank said in French. Brenda giggled.

"I heard that," Charlie responded, not that she knew what it meant.

It was time to head back. "Why don't we all go out to dinner?" Brenda suggested.

"We have no reservations," Fritz pointed out.

"There's this great Chinese place that takes no reservations," Trey responded.

"Can they seat all of us?" Sharon asked.

"As long as we pay cash, they don't care," Katie added. "Also, their crispy fish is excellent."

"Sold!" Brenda called out.

The groups headed back to change and have some down time before dinner. Clay Jr. wasn't in much of a celebratory mood. "Why are we going out?"

"Because your family is leaving tomorrow, and we thought it would be fun."

Clay sighed. "Sounds like a waste of money."

"It's Chinese food, not foie gras."

"Fine!"

Fritz stopped by the ATM to get more cash. Brenda wasn't sure if this place had alcohol. She asked Bobby if he knew. "Chinese food places usually don't. Let's pack our own, just in case." Charlie filled her flask. Bobby filled his. Brenda had no flask. She had a drink at the bar to start off, and she got a couple of those one shots she could hide in her purse.

Bobby and Charlie also had a brownie. Brenda was a little jealous. "You could have one too," Charlie said, noticing her eyes.

"You know I can't."

"Of course. You can risk getting shot at but a plant is scary."

"I'm not scared."

"Sure you're not." Charlie smirked. She broke one in half. "Half won't do too much."

"If I got caught."

"How would you get caught? Do you get tested?"

"Well, no."

Charlie handed it over. Impulsively, Brenda gobbled it up. This was going to be an entertaining dinner.

Marcus was on the phone with his grandmother. He told her about the museum, but he skipped over the rough housing. He sent her pictures of the museum.

The family reconvened at the restaurant. Jr. and Jimmy didn't speak. Clay hoped there wouldn't be an argument. Susan gave her name. She had a party of 14. They were getting two tables of 7 next to each other. Brenda was browsing through the menu. The drink was starting to get to her. The brownie hadn't given affect yet.

One table had Fritz, Brenda, Jimmy, Frank, Trey, Katie and Charlie. The other table had Clay Sr., Susan, Clay Jr., Marcus, Hank Bobby and Sharon. The waitress came to get drinks. They got a pot of tea for each table, waters and soda for the kids. They got a bottle of wine for the adults.

They got scallion pancakes and dumplings to start off. There were a bunch of conversations going on at once. Brenda and Frank were chatting again. Jimmy looked a little jealous, but he was happy that his sister and Frank were getting along. Trey was teasing his sister. She was struggling to eat the scallion pancake with her chopsticks.

"You can just use your hands. It's not rude," Charlie was eating with her hands.

Trey laughed.

"You knew that, didn't you."

He snickered. "It was too much fun watching you struggle." They usually didn't get scallion pancakes.

"Too Hot!" Hank yelled as he bit into a dumpling. It was one with the broth on the inside.

"Be careful," his mother told him.

Clay Sr. wanted to talk to Marcus. He had a lot of questions.

"So I hear you play football."

"Yeah. I'm a strong safety."

"I was a linebacker in my day." That was ages ago. Clay could always appreciate an athletic child. "How long have you been playing."

"My grandpa signed me up when I was 5."

"Were you always defense."

"I used to play quarterback, but the coach said it was a waste of my speed, so I switched."

"Do you like it?"

"It's great. I just wreck the opposition's dreams."

Clay laughed out. "That's hilarious."

"My grandpa always said a man defends his castle. No one scores on my watch. No one."

"That's the spirit. How do you like LA?"

"It's nice. A little smoggy, but the weather's better and the food is great. There's so much grown in California."

"Not like Chicago."

"Nope."

The brownie was starting to get to Brenda. Charlie noticed and was teasing her. Brenda sipped her wine, ignoring her niece. Charlie slipped the second half onto Brenda's lap.

The waitress came back and cleared the appetizers. There was quite a feast on the way.

"Hank, Why don't you play football?"

"Mom says it's violent."

"Of course it's violent. What else is a boy to do for fun?"

Hank laughed at that. "I run cross country."

"If you get a spear and kill an animal, that would be a great sport. Really old school."

Susan shook her head.

"Soccer's more violent," said Trey. "You should see them. If the ref isn't' looking, you will get kicked straight in the nuts."  
"Trey!" His mother scolded.

"It's true. They'll also step on your ankles, kick the back of your knees, slide in to you. Soccer is really dirty."

"No wonder you like it," Katie smirked.

"Do you do any sports?" Brenda asked her.

"Not unless you count olympic reading," said Trey with a laugh.

"I prefer reading about the outside world than going out there."

"I was a swimmer in school," said Brenda. "I thought it was fun, but too much chlorine will turn my hair green."

"Green's cool!" said Hank.

"You should try an activity," said Clay Sr.

"Maybe rock climbing would work," said Fritz. "You can go in teams, but it's more of an individual's sport. It's also more about logic."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't just grab arbitrary holds. You have to strategize. The choices you make determine if you will get to the top, how long it will take you, it's like a physical puzzle."

"I like puzzles."

The food started to arrive, a mushroom and bok choy dish, egg foo young, cold sesame noodles, general tso's chicken, crispy whole fish, cashew chicken, steamed red bean buns, beef and broccoli, plenty of rice, and moo shoo pork.

It was all delicious. People dug into dishes left and right. Platters started to disappear. People started sharing off each other's plates, so everyone could taste things. Brenda loved the fish. It had a garlicky, fruity, herby flavor and it was nice and crunchy and flaky.

Sharon enjoyed the cashew chicken and the mushroom dish. Bobby liked the moo shoo pork and the beef and broccoli. Jimmy and Frank shared their plates. It was endearing.

"I don't know what half of this is," Clay Sr. started, "and most of it is slipping out of these chopsticks, but it all tastes very good."

Brenda laughed at him. "We can get you a fork, Dad."

"Thank God."

Brenda waived down the waitress and got her father some western utensils. Brenda started pumping Frank for details about the wedding. "We're still planning," he told her.

"Well tell me when you have a date. I can't miss it." She was rather giggly from the brownie and she loved to gab.

Susan loved going to dinner. She had no dishes to wash, no kitchen to clean. She could just sit down and relax.

Every platter got killed. Hank wanted ice cream. Bobby did too. Many of them were stuffed. Charlie always had room for wine. Dessert came for some of them. After dessert, they stayed and chatted. Jr. groaned, ready to go. Susan ignored him and was chatting with Sharon. Bobby and Hank were talking about sports. Marcus was telling Clay Sr. about growing up in Chicago.

The night winded down. They all said their goodbyes. Brenda gave her father a big hug. "Thanks for coming, Brenda."

They all headed out.

They headed to the hotel and needed to pack. Brenda was horny and she wanted her man. She called Charlie and offered to give her money if she and Marcus wanted to play arcade games downstairs.

"Isn't it a little late?" Fritz said.

"He can sleep on the plane tomorrow."

She sent the kids with some money.

She looked at Fritz hungrily. They kissed, she ravished his mouth and pulled him onto the bed. She started to grind her hips against him. "I want you," she hissed.

He loved it when she was vocal. He unzipped her dress and pulled it off her. She got on her hands and knees and began to wriggle her behind. She was rather tantalizing. He pulled her hips towards him and kissed her neck. She moaned and reached her hand between his legs, rubbing his hardness. It didn't take long for them to shed their clothes. He started to grind against her wetness. She whimpered for him.

He enjoyed her begging, but then he plunged into her. "AWWWW!" she groaned as he began to pump in and out of her. The substances running through her blood got her very hot and bothered. She needed Fritz to take her. She was very loud, grunting and groaning, and bucking back into her. She was completely unabashed, the weed and alcohol taking all of her inhibitions. Fritz didn't know what got into her, but he was loving it. He began to pound her, harder, faster and deeper, and she howled for more.

Her hand slipped between her legs, and she furiously rubbed herself until she came all over. She was gushing all over the bed. He flipped her onto her back and looked into her eyes as he fucked her. Her eyes burned with desire and she pulled him into a wet, sloppy kiss. It wasn't long before he came deep inside of her. They fell into the bed, covered in sweat and smelling strongly of sex. They caught their breath. Then, Fritz pulled off the sheets and put them outside the room. Brenda put on the sheets in the closet and then hopped in the shower. Fritz joined her, and they scrubbed each other, vigorously.

Brenda got down on her knees and sucked her husband, sloppily. She shoved him into her mouth, wanting to taste him. It didn't take very long to grant her wish. He filled her mouth with his seed and she swallowed every drop. They got out the shower and ready for bed.

Marcus came back and got ready for bed. While he and Charlie were gone, Bobby and Sharon had their own fun.

Bobby loved seeing Sharon in her green, short dress. It brought out her eyes and showed off her legs. He cupped her ass and began to neck her.

She moaned into him and pulled him to the bed. They started kissing and touching sloppily, both of their hands ready to play. The clothes came off and they continued to kiss and grapple each other. Bobby rolled on top, and Sharon was desperately trying to flip him. She wanted to ride him. He felt her hips bucking and pulled her up, so they were both vertical. She rolled him over and began to neck him.

He could feel her aggression as she ground into him. He was quite thrilled. This was going to be a fabulous fuck. She tried to push him inside her. He made her wait a little bit. Damn, she wants it. He thought. He loved it when she was a total whore for him.

Sharon felt out of control with her lust. She wanted him so bad. She bit down on his neck. He finally pushed his way into her. She growled loudly. He looked in her eyes. They were a fiery green. She firmly pressed her hands on his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh. Her hips bucked against him. It took all of her self restraint, to not go buck wild on him. He felt amazing. He angled his hips, so he rubbed against her g-spot as she rode him.

She looked amazing, her hair gently flowing from her face, breasts bouncing and heaving, back arched and her eyes devilish. He slowly thrust into her as she rode. His hands found her nipples and pinched them and tugged on them. She groaned for him and bit down on her lip. His hands travelled down her body and he found her clit. He slowly pressed against it, eliciting a gasp from her. He rubbed it intently, causing her to lose it and cum all over him.

He rolled her onto her hands and knees and took her from behind. She thrust her hips into him, and he pounded her. She came for him again and again and finally, he came deep inside of her. The place smelled like a whorehouse. She stripped the sheets and put them outside. Bobby changed the sheets and they took a shower together. They were in the shower when Charlie came back.

What hos, she thought as she got ready for bed.


	73. Recovery Week

Sunday

Charlie was back in DC, ready to make the last push before finals. Jimmy and Frank were off on their next adventure. Susan implemented her new schedule, so she could finally have some time to herself again.

Monday

Marcus was back in school. Travis was showing everyone pictures of his new dog. He wasn't expecting one, but Molly was great.

Rusty was exhausted. John had his way with him all night Saturday and he had to stay up on Sunday and do all of the homework he neglected over the week. Kyle had senioritis. He was awaiting news on colleges. He was disinterested in school work.

No one wanted to be back at work. David wanted to be in bed with Eliza. Jackie and Tommy would rather be partying with Rachel. She had a job interview, however, and might actually need to start working soon. Brenda wanted to spend more time with Fritz. Flynn and Andrea enjoyed having the weekend alone. No murders. No hassle. Lots of love making and a newly, painted house. Sharon needed a vacation after her vacation with the Johnsons. She was amazed at how well adjusted Brenda is, considering her family. Bobby had a great time, drinking all day and plenty of weed. Time to get serious.

Atlanta, GA

The judge would be ruling on the consent decree any day now. Jacob was enjoying his smoker and had made great food all weekend. Smoked turkey, pulled pork, brisket. He brought some of it to the homeless shelter. It really brightened up their day.

Joyce was racking up her credit card, not knowing that Michael's business wasn't as good as he projected. What would she do when she discovered the problem?

Washington, DC

Charlie found an apartment for the spring. There was a group of juniors moving out of the dorm. They had a friend who was spending the spring semester abroad, so she would move in after Charlie moved out. They were sharing a house near the university. Charlie would have her own room. They were 420 friendly, and they were all 21, which would make life easier. She could also afford the rent on the stipend she was getting.

Afternoon

It was a rough football practice. Most of the kids were still feeling the effects of too much turkey and pie. Marcus was doing better than most, but he was tired too. This was the first practice without Brian. Everyone was too tired to notice.

Major Crimes

Estelle found a dead body when she went to get her car from the garage. She backed over it, and then noticed it was there. She was a quite difficult witness. She always interrupted before they could ask her a question. She didn't want to be there. She needed to get her nails done. Why was her car evidence? This was ridiculous.

Sharon tried to interview her.

"Were you screwing Pope too?" she had the nerve to ask.

Chief Taylor watched, shaking his head. He let Chief Pope know of the difficulty. He sighed. He knew she would be calling him. She called him during the interview, yelling and claiming she was being harassed.

"Believe it or not, Estelle. This isn't about you. A man is dead and these officers are just trying to figure out who killed him."

She cursed him and hung up. Eventually, Sharon cut her loose. She didn't know the guy and hadn't been in the garage in days. The man didn't have a car parked there. They didn't know why he was there. The video footage didn't show him with anyone who came in with a car.

"Why would someone be in a parking garage with no car?"

"Clandestine meeting," suggested Provenza.

"Or maybe they planned on riding with someone who had a car," added Flynn.

"Or maybe the body was dumped there and came in someone's trunk," said Sanchez

The trunk idea sounded promising but how to prove it.

"Tao, how many cameras were there in the garage."

"There is one when people enter and another when people leave. They are angled to show the driver, to try and make sure the person who brings in the car is the same person who leaves with it. There are also some cameras on the turns in case of a collision around the bends, but there aren't any other angles. I checked, but there was no footage of someone taking a body out the trunk."

Sykes had an idea. "In the Italian Job, they figured out which trunk had gold by seeing which trunk was weighed down the most. Do you think we could do the same for the body?"

"Bodies are a lot lighter," Tao answered. "But I can try." He got a program to measure the height of the trunk of the car as the car came into the garage and as it left. He ran the program in the day leading up to Estelle's running it over.

There were three cars that were measurably lighter leaving the garage. Tao used the license plate numbers to figure out who owned each car. Hopefully, they could connect one of the drivers to their victim.

FBI Office

Rachel came in for her interview. She borrowed Jackie's dress clothes because work was more informal in Germany. The outfit fit fine, but it was a little tight on her chest. The men definitely noticed. Rachel was a little nervous when she answered questions, but she excelled on her written test. She could translate quickly and more importantly, she recognized idioms and colloquial language, so she could help find hidden meanings behind the text.

She was very impressive. Fritz noticed her on the way out. "How'd it go?"

"It was great. Thanks for giving me a good word."

"Not a problem." A friend of Brenda's was a friend of his, not to mention she was sexy as hell.

"Are you busy right now?"

"No."

"Wanna grab lunch." They headed to a taqueria down the street. Rachel peppered him with questions about his life in LA, how he met Brenda, when did he know she was the one. He admitted she had him at hello. They were both with other people in DC, but he got a second chance when she moved to LA, and he went for it. She thought it was sweet.

"So how was life in Germany."

"It was really nice. The food was awesome. The architecture, culture and beer all great, but it's not home. The people were pleasant, but they kind of keep to themselves. I'm more outgoing."

"Tell me about it. My dad was an aloof man." Fritz's father was very serious man. He worked hard and provided for his family, but he kept to himself. He was a very private man. He didn't show a lot of emotion, unless he was mad. He was pleasant a lot of the time, but never very warm.

After lunch, Fritz headed back to the FBI office. Rachel headed home.

Tuesday

Bobby had a setback on his new building. The subcontractor fucked up the flooring and it needed to be redone. The guy didn't think it was so bad, but Bobby knew his client wanted perfection. He told the guy to either a. fix it or b. he would hire someone else to do it, and deduct it from the guy's final check. Bobby wasn't paying him until the job was done right. They got into a bit of a stand off, and Bobby hired someone else. He didn't play. Do your work or be gone. The new guy would need some time to get ready for the job. Bobby had to work around it as best he could.

Prosecutor's office

Brenda had to mediate a standoff between the health inspectors, the mayor's office, and a caterer. Apparently, the mayor had a big Thanksgiving dinner and lots of people got sick. The caterer insists it wasn't the food. The health inspector wants to shut them down. The mayor's office was afraid of a lawsuit. Toxicology was being rushed, but the results weren't back yet. Brenda agreed to investigate discretely and to resolve the matter quickly.

She had Jackie join the restaurant as a new cook. She would wear a little camera, so they could see what was going on inside the kitchen.

Marshall looked into the servers. Brenda and David interviewed the people who got hospitalized, figuring out what they ate, how long it took them to get sick, if they had any modifications.

They deduced that only the people who ate the chicken papaya salad with the papaya seed vinaigrette got sick. No one who ate the soup or got a different dressing got sick. Brenda contacted the chicken supplier. No one else got sick. The same went with the papaya, and the only other ingredients were rice flour, garlic, oil and other non-perishable foods. It was easy to see that the food sources were not the problem.

Jackie checked out the restaurant. It was very clean. They had organized cutting boards, so the meat didn't touch the vegetable boards. The floor was clean, behind the fridge was clean, the freezer had been cleaned out. The chefs all seemed professional. She had trouble imagining that the kitchen was the problem. They could have scrambled to clean after people got sick, but it took up to 48 hours for people to get sick; there was not enough time to make a rathole into a top quality kitchen.

This left intentional poisoning as the only other option. Brenda had some questions for the executive chef.

"When did you make the dressing?"

"I made it Thursday morning. I always make it the morning of."

"And how did you make it?"

"I took papaya seeds, mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cilantro, mint, parsley, salt, pepper, and brown sugar and put them all in the vitamix. Then I run it through a sieve, so it's all smooth. People love my dressings. They're quite good."

"It sounds delicious, but only the people who ate the dressing got sick."

"There was nothing that could have gone bad in that dressing."

"Doesn't sound like it. When do you dress the salad?"

"Right before plating. You don't want the greens to get soggy."

"Where is the sauce kept between the time you make it and when you actually use it."

"I pour it into a glass bottle and store it with the other oils and vinegars until we use it."

"So anyone, the other chefs, the servers, could have tampered with it?"

"I guess, but who would do that? You don't think it was an assassination attempt, do you?"

"Probably not, since no one died. It might just be someone who wanted to embarrass the mayor, unless you can think of anyone who would want to harm your business."

"I have no enemies. I mean, I have a lot of competition, but I earned my work fair and square. I never cheated anyone in my whole life."

This woman sounded really honest.

"Thank you for your help. You are free to go."

The mayor called for an update.

"This appears to be an intentional poisoning."

"Intentional? Why would you say that?"

"The kitchen is pristine. We checked with all of the food suppliers, and no one else got sick and the only thing that could have gotten people sick was the salad dressing, which didn't get added until right before dinner. Anyone could have spiked it with something, causing the problem."

"Do you have any suspects?"

"Not yet. I don't know what the poison was, which would tell me if someone was trying to commit a murder or just make people sick. I also don't know who the target was?"

"Isn't it obvious that the target was me?"

"I meant why. It could be someone who dislikes you or it could be someone who wanted to get the restaurant shut down."

"I see. Well, please hurry. The health department is riding my ass on this."

Brenda found that rather odd. She did some research. Usually, it took weeks to get a reaction from them.

Brenda asked David to look up the health inspector's office and see if he could find any connection between an employee and the restaurant or the mayor's office. She wanted to see who was friends with whom, and who were potential enemies.

Wednesday

Eventually, David found a connection. The woman running this investigation for the health inspector was the sister of one of the servers. They both had a brother who ran a restaurant that used to cater for the mayor's Thanksgiving dinner.

Brenda called the mayor and asked him why he switched companies. He said the previous caterer used to be very good, but booze got to the best of him. He was messing up dishes, forgetting to bring everything he needed. He just got outdone by a better company.

She looked up the brother. His business was failing, and the mayor used to provide a lot of business to him.

Brenda needed to know the poison. She needed to make a connection between the poison and the sister at the restaurant.

Eventually the lab had it. It was undercooked cassava pureed with water. "What an odd poison?"

Surely enough, the restaurant run by the brother served fried cassava, and they messed up a cassava dish for the mayor the last time they catered for him. Poetic justice?

Brenda asked if there was a way to match the cassava in the restaurant to what was found in the victims' stomach. They said no, but the sister wouldn't know this.

Brenda called back the mayor and gave him her theory of the case.

"You are telling me that a health inspector conspired with a server to poison my dinner."

"It all adds up. How else would cassava get into the salad dressing? The restaurant that catered your dinner doesn't serve it. The health inspector rushed to shut down the restaurant, even though it's protocol to wait until the investigation is over before making a decision on closing. If they were closed down, their brother could try and win back his job. His restaurant is failing and the sister who was a server just started working for the company before the dinner and quit promptly afterwards."

"I hope you're right."

Brenda called in both sisters, making sure each of them didn't know the other was here and giving them different stories.

Brenda told the sister who was a server that she suspected that this was a planned attempt to kill the mayor and that the consequences would be quite serious. She told the other sister that the mayor was scared to use the company again and was thinking of canceling the contract. She then let them both go. The health inspector called her brother, telling him to get ready and try and win back the mayor's bid.

The other sister called the first sister, freaking out about going to jail for attempted murder. Brenda got a warrant and listened to their phone calls. The conversation gave it all away. The drunk brother didn't seem to know anything about it. Apparently, both sisters had lent him money to put into the restaurant, and they needed it to be a success, so they could get their money back. The police arrested them both the following morning.

Major Crimes

Three different car owners had a connection to the victim. They had an estranged wife, a best friend, and step-father all going to the garage that day. The wife said she always parked her car in the garage because her husband was behind on the payments, and she didn't want it to get repoed. The best friend said he parked there because he needed to bring sound equipment to the building upstairs and the step-father said he was there to sell old stuff at the street fair, but there was no parking, so he parked in the garage and brought his stuff up. It had to be the wife. Her going to work didn't explain why her trunk was lighter when she left. She was never seen leaving the garage with anything. She eventually confessed.

Thursday

Brenda got a text from Mikki.

"A bunch of us are going to Lucky Bar tonight. You in?" Brenda had no plans. She didn't have a case yet, so as long as she could wake up in time, she was good. She poked her head into Andrea's office. She was going. Brenda texted Mikki to say she'd be there too. She texted her husband to say she was going to a girls' night out.

"On a Thursday, is this undergrad?"

"Oh hush."

FBI Office

Fritz was reading his papers, nothing very interesting was in them. He went to get more coffee. He overheard the following conversation.

"Did you see her knockers?"

"She was out of this world. I got a woody just looking at her."

"I hope to see more of her."

"I hope she's single."

Fritz ignored the chatter and kept going. What pigs.

Thursday Evening

Flynn was planning a holiday gathering before everyone scattered for the break. He settled Tom Wattson's Bar. There was a pizzeria next door, and they had pool and Foosball if you wanted to do something other than get stupid drunk.

Andrea said she'd help him with the invitations tomorrow. She put on a blue tank top and dark jeans. She had on a button down sweater, in case it got chilly. "Sure you don't want me to drive you?"

"Knock Knock"

"I'll be fine." She kissed him on the lips and then went to answer the door.

"Ready to go?" It was Brenda and Sharon. "Flynn, this place looks cheerful. Are you sure this is your house?"

"Brenda," Sharon scolded. "It looks lovely."

The three girls left. Sharon drove. Rihanna started playing. Brenda sang along. "Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!"

"What are you doing?" Sharon was perplexed.

"I like this song."

"Of course you do. You do realize this song is about sex and not cake."

"Why can't it be about both?"

Sharon and Andrea laughed.

They got to the bar. There were a lot of people already there. Mikki and Katie, Sue and Amy, Rachel, Jackie and Eliza. They all said their hellos. Mikki noticed Brenda's outfit. She always looked great, but today she had these hiphugger jeans on. She wasn't the only one to notice, however. There were plenty of chicas looking the Chief up and down.

They started with a round of drinks. Sharon and Sue were the designated drivers, so they got water and everyone else got either a margarita or a beer, the happy hour choices. They chatted about their weeks, and their vacations.

Mikki was chuckling.

"What is it?"

"I just can't imagine Brenda and Sharon on a shared family vacation."

"She was the least of my problems," Sharon said. "Her brother Clay is crazy."

"When am I ever a problem?" Brenda said slightly drunk.

Everyone chuckled. "I like problems," said Jackie. "They're fun."

"See! I'm fun." She started to dance. Of course Rihanna was back on.

"You like the trashiest music," Sharon commented.

"Trashy music is the best. The beat was made for you to wriggle your butt."

Everyone laughed at that. "I guess it's dance time."

People started making their way onto the floor. Brenda had a way of speaking with her hips. Her body said, "I'm sexy and I know it."

Plenty of women took notice. This was, a lesbian bar, after all. Mikki and Katie were all over each other. Jackie and Rachel were getting sloshed. Andrea and Amy were chatting about Virginia Woolf or something, and Sue and Sharon were still talking, the only sober ones, seemingly in the bar.  
More and more people packed into the club. The announcer got on the stage. Apparently, there was a contest for Queen of the rodeo.

Brenda said, "Damn! I would have dressed up."

Sharon laughed at her. "What are you nuts?"

"I still got it," Brenda insisted.

Sharon said, "maybe last decade."

Brenda pouted. It must have been the tequila talking because she went right up to the announcer and put her name on the list. She had a show to put on. She went to a room in the back and found some costumes. Brenda swiped a new cowgirl had and changed into a pair of boots. She found a belt buckle that said cocky and put it on. She was already wearing a pink, shimmery top. Next was makeup. She reapplied it carefully, and took her hair out of its ponytail.

While she was getting ready, the contest began. Most of the girls were pretty alright, in their underwear, dancing about. There seemed to be more booze than coordination, but most of the crowd just wanted to see the clothes come off.

Sharon thought this was all ridiculous. "Brenda is jealous about missing out on this?" Wait! Where did she go.

The next thing they knew, "Cowboy Take Me Away" was playing. Brenda strutted out. She slowly started to move her hips. When the chorus hit, she jumped up, perfectly swinging around the pole. She tossed her jacket aside as she slid down. The crowd was loving it.

Well, I'll be damned! Sharon thought. Mikki was in heaven. She was not alone. Brenda slid down on her knees and tossed her shirt aside. She did a simple body roll, a wave with her hat, and left with a smile. The crowd was wild, screaming cheering. She was the real thing.

Brenda put her shirt back on and headed to the bar to grab herself a drink. Not surprisingly, it was on the house. They voted by cheers and it wasn't a surprise that Brenda won. "Dancing Queen" played and she got a silly sash and a trophy. She also got drink offers left and right.

Andrea was stunned. "Flynn's going to be so mad that he missed that."

Jackie was cracking up. "So's Tommy. I'm going to text him now."

Rachel said, "I wish she were my boss."

"I told you I still got it," Brenda told Sharon as she resumed her place with her friends.

"I stand corrected." Sharon couldn't stop giggling.

Brenda smirked. "Now who want's some tequila!" Everyone went for shots. It was time to dance. Brenda chose Rachel for a dancing partner. She moved quite well to the music, and she was quite nice to look at. Rachel stole her hat and put it on.

"Hey!" Brenda pretended to be mad.

Mikki and Katie were grinding intently. Katie knew this was going to be a good night.

Eventually, it was time to go home. Sharon and Sue dropped off the drunk ladies. Fritz looked at his wife. "Why are you wearing a sash?"

"Because, I'm the Queen," she told him. He shook his head and brought her to bed. He left a glass of water and an Advil, just in case.

Sharon finally got home to an awaiting Bobby. "You wanna stay up one more hour?"

"I gotta work."

"Me too. How about a half hour?"

She smiled. He was very sexy. He hit the music and began to dance as he took off his clothes. What is with the Johnsons and stripping?

Katie and Mikki got to her apartment. It wasn't long before they were both naked and getting intimate on the couch. Mikki liked it when Katie rode her. The couch was perfect for giving Katie the leverage she needed. Katie was gorgeous, blonde curls bouncing, young perky body. Mikki was a sucker for blondes. It wasn't long before Katie found her rhythm. She moved quite gracefully. Mikki's hands found her round ass and began to grope it. Katie moaned for her. It wasn't long before Mikki took control. She rolled Katie over and started to pound her. Katie squealed with delight.

Rachel was having trouble sleeping. She was distracted, fulled with lustful thoughts and kept waking up to find her fingers rubbing her furiously. She would finish the job and go back to bed, but it wasn't enough. She really wanted to get fucked, and she knew just who she wanted for the job.


	74. The Calm before the Storm

Friday

FBI Office

Rachel had a lot to do today. Agent Howard and his team were investigating a group of suspected smugglers and could not figure out where they hid their contraband. They did not have enough for a warrant but were able to clandestinely record conversations the suspects had in public places. Of course, they were in Russian, so Rachel would have to be their ears.

One man was clear, but the other spoke in a hoarse whisper. She had to listen a few times to make out his words. Her translations took her time, but she did them well. She would first transcribe the conversation in Russian. Then she would translate it into English and back into Russian. If the second Russian text, was unlike the first, then she knew she had a discrepancy to fix in her English translation. After this, she would look for any popular phrases or symbols and look for hidden meanings. She would write down any additional meanings she could find and try replacing the original text with them and see if what resulted made sense.

When she was finally happy with her work, she would write a report of her findings; why she made the choices she made- translating always has choices to be made.

"How long is she going to take?" One agent tapped his foot impatiently. "She's had like two hours already."

"Why don't you do it?" Agent Howard snapped.

The agent shut up.

Rachel had a draft but it didn't quite make sense. They were taking about cuckoos and nests. Perhaps it was about clocks. That doesn't make sense. She looked at earlier parts of the conversation. Something about the sun. She sat there for a moment. Then she felt like a dummy. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest.

Now that she had this part out, the conversation made sense. They were smuggling their contraband from east to west inside of cuckoo clocks. They had been getting past the FBI because the FBI had been searching the packages from Russia to the US, not from Russia Germany US. This is where they'll find the goods.

She reported on her findings. There was a shipment due on Monday, reportedly cuckoo clocks. They had them.

Bobby's Work

The new floors were being put in, and Bobby was still arguing with the old floor guy on the phone. Bobby got fed up and hung up on him. He needed at least one story done by today, so he could send pictures to his client.

His phone rang. What now? "Bobby."

"Hey cuz. Guess who's officially not married anymore?"

"WHAT!" Bobby couldn't believe he was finally free.

"You and Joyce are legally, no more. Judge signed the decree. You are free."

"That's great. You're the best."

"Just helping out family."

"Well, if you're ever in LA, I got a new smoker and the recipes just keep coming. I think its cause for a celebration."

"I think so too! Catch you on the flip side."

Bobby was now in a fantastic mood. He was going to be picking up a very fine bottle of wine on his way home. It was time for a celebration.

The Prosecutor's Office

Brenda woke up with a bit of a headache. She had quite a night on Thursday and did not want to be going to work this morning. She thought about calling in sick, but she was the boss. She was supposed to set an example. Aspirin, coffee, shower and time to go. Joel was sleeping on the couch. Lucky bum, Brenda thought as she got in her car.

When she pulled into work this morning, Gabriel was already there, as expected and Tommy was ribbing Jackie for being hungover at work.

"Someone got a little drunk last night," he taunted.

"Isn't it time you got to work?"

Everyone looked at the Chief. She did not look like she wanted to play.

"Yes, Ma'am," and Tommy was off. Brenda slipped into her office and closed her eyes. She wasn't quite ready for the world yet.

Atlanta, GA

Joyce was at the mall buying a new dress. She was going to quite a nice restaurant tonight, and she wanted to look her best. She was another step closer to marrying her beau and finally getting the star treatment she always wanted. The dress was $600, but it was well worth it. She got new shoes, and her hair done. She had the best look money could buy her, absent surgery, and she was ready to show off.

Her boyfriend was in a panic. The band he was shopping was losing value by the second. The banks were hesitant to loan him any more money for this project and he needed to find a way out before the wedding. Joyce wanted a lot from him, and he didn't know how he could make it happen. What would he tell her?

Washington, DC

Charlie studied diligently. She had 2 finals, a presentation and a lab report for the semester's end. The lab report was done. She had a draft of her presentation, and she was currently working her way though past exams for her finals. Christmas was so close. She just had to make it through the final stretch.

Charlie's friend's hadn't seen her this focused on school in a while. They assumed it was breaking up with her ex. "She's using studying as a way to distract her from the pain of losing at love," one of her friends said.

"Eventually, she'll have to make use of her wallowing time, so she can move on."

Little did they know Charlie was actually over him. She just wanted As to impress future employers.

Los Angeles

Major Crimes

Captain Raydor was in Taylor's office with one Emma Rios. They were arguing with how to proceed with the Stroh case. Emma wanted to move for a deal and start at the negotiating table. Raydor thought they should catch him by surprise, send him the indictment, and then, see what he does. She wanted to go to the table with the upper hand.

"We have a rock solid case against him. He'll fold," Rios was sure she could get a deal out of him

"He didn't fold on 5 murders. Why would he fold on the 6th?" Raydor was skeptical

"We do not have any eye witnesses for a trial. We just have two "ear-witnesses."

"And if he knows we're coming for him, we won't get anything else."

"What are you hoping to get out of him?"

"I don't know. Maybe he'll panic and call someone to destroy some evidence. Maybe he'll say something to a snitch. I do know, however, if we tell him 'hey, we're about to indict you for murder,' anything we might get out of surprising him is gone."

"I'm inclined to agree," said Taylor, unusually offering a position on a matter. "We can still pursue a deal but if we surprise him, we will have the upper hand."

"Fine, but this better work." Rios was gone. She had paperwork to fill out.

Raydor wanted this all over. No more appeals. She didn't want Rusty to have to go on the stand again. He had to plead the fifth almost a dozen times during the first trial. He almost threw up twice and she was afraid he was going to deck Stroh's lawyer on the stand. He didn't deserve that kind of stress. No one did.

The Loft

Eliza prepared to make a statue of David. She had sketches of him from every direction possible and a model from which to work. She started making her mold, slowly cutting away the material, making sure she captured him exactly as she wanted him.

She worked in layers, doing the large cut outs first and the smaller ones inside. She moved swiftly and with precision. After about an hour, it was time for a break. When Eliza's hands got fatigued, her carving skills suffered. She took breaks, so she always worked when her hands were fresh. It was slower, but she'd rather make 1 good cast a day than three bad ones, which she'd have to redo anyway.

Time for some cocoa and bad television.

Rusty's School

He got invited to a rager that was happening tonight. He looked up the address on his phone. It was out of the city, looked like farm land or something.

He texted Kyle during lunch to see if he wanted to go.

Kyle answered. Apparently Joe and Kevin wanted to come to the party as well, and they had plenty of treats.

They decided to get burgers in the city before heading to the party.

Marcus's school

They didn't have a game this Saturday. Their last game was next Saturday. Today was still a short practice, but Saturday was going to be a full-on scrimmage with the Catholic school two blocks away.

It was time to hit the field: warmup, short run, passing drills, longer run, stretch, coach's closing words and that was it.

Brenda picked up Marcus after his practice. She let everyone leave early. There wasn't much going on at the office anyway.

Marcus climbed into the car. "Hi, Brenda."

"Hi Marcus. How was practice?"

"It was chill. I didn't see you this morning."

"I slept in."

"Had a rough night? It happens to the best of us."

Brenda giggled. "Are you speaking from experience?"

Outside the FBI Office

Fritz was on his way home. He was going to pick up some pizza for the family. He bumped into Rachel on his way to the car. "Great job today."

"Thanks."

"How's the bureau been treating you?"

"Not too bad. They pay is nice."

"I never hear anyone say that about government pay."

"Well, I'm an independent contractor, so my salaries pretty alright. Also I'm no longer paying EU taxes."

"How was living in Europe?"

"Well the first few weeks were amazing. OMG it's so much better than the States. I'm never coming back, but then, I started to miss all of the little things: barbeque, Tex Mex, southern fried chicken, NY cheesecake. Eventually, I just got used to what Europe was missing, and then I got home. OMG America's so much better, I'm never leaving. Then, I started to miss all of the things in Europe that are not here. Now, I think I can appreciate the joys of both places."

"That sounds great. I've never spent that much time abroad."

"You should. It really is like nothing else." She casually eyed him up and down. He was quite a formidable man: tall, strong features.

"Don't let me hold you up." Fritz realized he had been talking to her for quite a while.

"Oh no. I wasn't up to anything other than being a third whee with Jackie and Tommy."

"Are they together?"

"No, they just eye each other longingly all weekend, driving everyone around them bonkers."

Fritz laughed. "Sounds about right."

"Where are you off too?"

"Pizza Palace. I was going to pick up something for the family. Would you like to have dinner with us?" Why did I ask that, said Fritz. Awkward.

"I would like that."

"What type of toppings do you like?"

"I'll eat pretty much anything."

Fritz called in two pizzas. Pepperoni and capers on one and sausage and onion on the other. Rachel followed Fritz to the pizzeria and then to the house.

Fritz called Brenda on his way to the pizza shop, telling her he had invited Rachel for dinner.

"The house is a mess, Fritzi."

"It was fine when I left."

Brenda had made quite a mess this morning trying to get herself ready for work. "I'll try and make it presentable."

"See you soon, Boo-Boo."

Brenda started running the dishwasher, wiping down counters. She scrambled to clean the bathroom and vacuum in the living room.

Marcus came out of his room. "Are we having company?"

"Your dad's co-worker, Rachel, is coming over."

Marcus picked up his room and started wiping down tables and dusting. Joel slept on the couch. They finally got the house looking decent when the doorknob started to turn.

"Fritzi!" Brenda greeted her husband with a kiss.

"Hi Dad! Hi Rachel."

Rachel looked around. They had a nice house. Fritz set the pizza on the table. Brenda washed her hands and started plating them. She knew her husband wanted pepperoni and Marcus sausage. "What would you like Rachel?"

She turned to look at Brenda. She looked quite radiant in a simple blouse and skirt. "Uh, pepperoni."

"You got it."

Fritz went to the table. Brenda brought over plates. Rachel went to help her. Brenda poured some home made iced tea for everyone.

"This is delicious," Rachel told her.

"Thanks."

Marcus bit into the pizza, nice crisp crust, cheesy, not too greasy. It was perfect.

"How was school, Sprout?"

"It was okay. Friday's are always the most boring day."

"Too excited for the weekend."

"No. It's just that's when we have a double period of history, belch."

"History can be fun."

"Not with Mr. Edwards. He speaks in the monotone voice, like a book on tape."

Brenda did her best impression of a completely monotone voice. "4 score and 7 years ago."

Everyone started laughing.

"Is he that bad?"

"Sometimes, I wish my face would fall off just so I can say something happened."

Rachel chuckled. She told Brenda a joke in Russian about "The Nose."

Brenda giggled.

After dinner, Marcus headed to his room to play games.

They made small talk. Rachel was a very pleasant person. She had a lot of energy, and was very easy on the eyes. She and Brenda discussed their favorite experiences in Europe. Brenda went to Amsterdam with a colleague when she was in her twenties. She had quite a time. They won some money at the casino, and managed to blow most of it partying all weekend: gourmet food, lots of absinthe and they found these two handsome men to cavort around with. As it turns out, these men were wanted for burglary and they all got taken to the pokey. The rest of their prize money went for bail.

Fritz hadn't heard this story before. Brenda was quite a wild child.

"How did you get a government job with an record?" Rachel was impressed. She had gotten super-vetted by the FBI, and she's just a contractor.

Brenda blushed. "Well, I …."

"You had fake ID!" Fritz was floored.

"My friend packed one for me, just in case. What? Did you not do anything bad in your twenties?"

"Can't say I didn't."

"Thought so."


	75. The Storm

Atlanta, GA

Joyce was doing some online-shopping before her dinner with Mike. She went to checkout, and it got declined. She tried again, no go. Frustrated, she called Saks. They said she had to call AMEX. They said the account had been suspended.

"Why on Earth would you... Do you even know who I am?"

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but Michael Fraser closed this account himself."

"He WHAT!" She cursed belligerently. The poor employee pretended the line was getting fuzzy and hung up.

Mike had a lot of explaining to do.

Los Angeles

Sharon's House

After work, Bobby had gone to the grocery store. He picked up a bottle of wine and a nice cut of pork belly. Tonight would be a special dinner. He got home, made a marinade for the pork and took Hunter for a quick run. He came back, took a hot shower and began to prepare dinner.

He wanted everything to be perfect. He dug out the candles, the fancy dishes and began preparing the food. He needed something light to go with the fatty pork. He made a vinaigrette to go with a fresh spring greens salad. He cut up some tomatoes, scallions, broccoli and crushed some black garlic to go in some couscous, and he was making a pineapple meringue pie for dessert. Lemon was traditional, but he wanted to make it a little more exciting.

Sharon was on her way home. She was beat. She was really sick of Rios, and she really wanted a nice glass of wine and to be a bum on her couch.

The roads were a mess; cars weaving in and out of traffic, running lights, everyone honking. Sharon wished she could throw them all in jail with the snap of her fingers.

Sharon came home, and she looked exhausted. She was imagining a takeout and sweatpants evening, but then she smelled something wonderful.

She wandered into the kitchen to see Bobby making some type of pineapple concoction.

"Get ready. Tonight's going to be quite a dinner."

"What's the occasion?"

"I have an announcement to make." He smiled, not revealing any more.

Sharon took a hot shower and snuggled with a pillow. She needed to forget her day at work ever happened.

Rusty went out with Kyle and his friends. Sharon was too sleepy to even ask him where he was going or when he'd be back.

The Howard House

The three adults had migrated into the living room and were drinking coffee and chatting. Brenda had clearly taken a liking to Rachel. They sat next to her, and Brenda rested her head on Rachel's shoulder. Fritz was pleasantly surprised. Brenda usually didn't warm up to people so easily.

Rachel was very distracted. Brenda had very soft hair. She also smelled really good. Being so close to her was a struggle, but she tried her best to act normal. Rachel got a text, which gave her an excuse to shift from under Brenda.

"Where is U ATTTTT?" Jackie texted. Clearly, she was quite drunk.

"Guess who's wasted?" Rachel said.

"Tell Jackie and Tommy I say hi!" Brenda knew it was them.

Atlanta, GA

Mike picked up Joyce for dinner, unaware that she had discovered the problem with the credit card. He took her to dinner. She didn't talk much, leaving most of the talking to Mike. He talked about his work and what his family was up to, and finally, he noticed her silence.

"Baby, what is it?"

"You cut off my credit card?"

"I know I should have told you earlier, but I've been having a little cash flow problem. It's only temporary, but until I figure it out, I need to watch the spending."

"Cash flow problem? What happened to the band?"

"I had to cut them loose. They were costing me more than they were bringing in. I thought I could turn them around, but I just kept losing money on it. I've been looking for a new investment, but I need to make sure I have rock-solid credit, which means paying down some of this debt.

Joyce was not amused. She gave up her shot at alimony, so she could marry Mike quickly. Why marry him if he was busted? She needed to re-strategize.

Sharon's House

Bobby finished the couscous dish and put it in the fridge to chill. The pork was braising. The pineapple curd was setting and now it was time for Bobby to make the meringue mixture. He got to work, pouring the egg whites and cream of tartar into the standing mixer. As it started to turn into foam, he began pouring in the sugar. When it was done, he set it a side. It was time to take out the pork belly, and continue cooking it on the stove.

He turned up the oven and pre-baked the pie crust. He then poured in the pineapple curd and then the meringue and baked it. When it was done, he took out the pie and put it on a cooling rack. He took the pork belly out of the sauce, baked it at high heat to get it to brown, took it back out, brushed it in sauce and broiled it, getting the sauce to cake onto the meat. He took out the meat one more time and let it rest so the juices could redistribute.

He poured the wine into the decanter, torched the meringue to get that nice browned look on the top, sliced the pork belly, made the salad and began plating. He left the dressing for last, so the greens wouldn't get soggy. Then he went to retrieve his girlfriend for dinner.

"Dinner awaits you," he told her.

She looked sleepy, but she could eat. She got up and followed him into the dining room. She sat down, and he lit the candles.

"This smells and looks wonderful," she told him as she looked at her plate. The tomatoes were vibrant, the roasted veggies gave the plate a nice earthy look, the pork and the couscous added variety, the greens looked nice and crisp. This was quite a plate.

He bit right into the pork belly, his favorite. He braised it in a soy, honey and ginger mixture. The ginger giving it a nice kick to help cut away the fattiness.

Sharon bit into the salad first. She loved his pistachio vinaigrette. She tried the couscous next. It was also very nice. The pork she tried after that and it was delicious but so rich. It had to be very fatty. She tried not to think about that, and she drank some of the wine. "This is very nice wine." She could tell it was expensive and fancier than what Bobby usually purchased. This had to be quite an announcement.

He smiled. "Guess, who's finally single?"

"What!"

"I'm divorced now."

"Oh!" Sharon calmed down, finally understanding. She was about to flip out at him.

"The judge signed off today. I am a free man." Bobby leaned in and gave his lover a kiss.

They continued to eat and drink. Her crappy day was turning into a marvelous evening.

The Howard House

Rachel was fidgeting in her chair.

"Are you alright?" Fritz asked her.

"It's just my back, old soccer injury."

"I know the feeling."

"Would you like a massage?" Brenda offered

"What?"

"I took a class since Fritzi has back issues."

"You don't have to..." Rachel didn't think she could handle the blonde's hands roaming her body.

"It's no trouble." Before she could protest, Brenda pushed Rachel forward and began to rub her shoulders.

Rachel did her best not to gasp audibly. Brenda's hand's felt amazing. Her small hands worked Rachel's shoulders and moved down her back. Rachel was definitely flustered, her face turning red and her breath short.

Brenda felt that this massage could be better. "Let's take this to the guest room." She ushered Rachel upstairs and got her shirt off. "Lie on your stomach."

Rachel did as she was told. Brenda straddled her, her legs on either side of Rachel's hips and she began to rub her back vigorously.

Rachel couldn't contain herself and began to grunt as Brenda worked up and down. "There you go, just let it out." If Brenda knew the affect she was having on Rachel, she didn't show it. She rolled Rachel onto her back and began to massage the front of her shoulders.

Rachel was wearing a very pretty bra. It was black and lacy. She also had very swollen nipples.

Brenda started to massage Rachel's calves. Now she was just torturing Rachel. "They're so tight," Brenda commented as she rubbed her. Rachel was about to explode. The woman she had been lusting after since the moment the met, the married boss of her best friend no less, had been rubbing her hands all over her body, everywhere except for the places she desperately wanted to be touched. Rachel started breathing heavily and a single groan escaped her lips.

Brenda knew that sound anywhere. When she gently moved her hands towards Rachel's knee, she could feel the woman trembling beneath her. Brenda hadn't thought about being with another woman before, but this woman was absolutely gorgeous and definitely into her.

She whispered into Rachel's ear. "Can you be quiet?"

Atlanta, GA

Joyce finished out the dinner, not letting on that anything was wrong, but she needed a change of plans. She needed to secure her future and Mike was not going to be the one to get it done, but he didn't need to know that yet. She would keep him until she could upgrade.

Los Angeles

Sharon's House

"I've never had a pineapple meringue before."

"What do you think?"

"It's great. Its balance of sweet and tart is perfect for the meringue."

Bobby smiled. He loved his life now, and he was so glad to be permanently removed from Atlanta, and all the baggage he left behind.

After dessert, the went into the living room. It was the perfect time for music. Bobby put on the Doors, the perfect backdrop. They began making out like teenagers.

The Howard House

Brenda locked the door and slowly approached. She swiftly slipped her hands up Rachel's thigh.

Rachel bit down on her lip, ensuring she wouldn't make a sound as Brenda managed to get her panties off and her skirt hiked out of the way. Her lips crashed into Rachel's, aggressively taking control as she used her hands to poke and prod Rachel's mound.

She wriggled and writhed as Brenda found her way inside. Her fingers moved quickly and diligently. She wanted Rachel to come for her, quickly. She could tell this woman was ready to explode and Brenda wanted to give it to her. Rachel's eyes got huge as Brenda found her sensitive nub and began to rub it furiously with her thumb. Her other two fingers were deep inside, causing Rachel to buck against them.

Rachel bit down on Brenda's shoulder, fighting the urge to scream loudly. Finally, she completely let go, having the most intense orgasm she had in a long time and collapsing onto the bed.

Brenda smirked, quite happy with her work, leaving the younger woman flustered and shaking on the bed. Brenda gave her a tender kiss, and said "I'll meet you downstairs." Brenda washed her hands and headed back to her husband like nothing happened.

Sharon's House

Bobby picked Sharon up and carried her into the bedroom.

He gently set her on the bed and began to slowly undress her. He kissed her gently, and she began to strip him. They sank under the sheets and began to enjoy each other, slowly kissing and touching each other all over. They had all night and Bobby wanted this to take all night. His lips and teeth made their way down her neck, across her shoulders, down to her chest, stomach, legs, toes and up to her back.

His lips found the nape of her neck and his hands began to rub her stomach, slowly making his way towards her breasts. She gasped as his hands began to knead her. He had become an expert with her body. He worked her slowly, building up tension as he kissed and rubbed her body

Eventually, she had enough of his teasing, and he flipped her onto her back. He slowly, kissed his way down her flesh and began to devour her.

Her head leaned back, and her eyes rolled as she gasped and screamed. She got louder and louder as she got closer, and when she was on the edge, he teased her for a few minutes. She wriggled and writhed beneath him, desperate for a release. He smiled as he plunged his fingers into her curling them so they caressed her g-spot, and he rubbed her until she came hard, crashing into her pillow like lightning from a thundercloud. She tightened around his fingers and squealed.

He kissed her gently, quite content with his work.

The Howard House

Brenda had quite a grin on her face.

"What are you so chipper about?"

Brenda kissed him gently. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Fritz was intrigued. He put down his book, and his hands found his wife's hips. He pulled her onto his lap. "Actually, I would."

"Let's just say that Rachel really liked her massage."

It took Fritz a minute to get her meaning. "You little slut."

Brenda grinned. She knew Fritz was jealous. Rachel was quite a fox.

She kissed his neck. "You can be next."


	76. Romp

Some light bondage in this chapter, not that it should surprise you if you read the earlier chapters.

Saturday

Fritz dropped Rachel off at her home in the morning, while Brenda drove Marcus to a classmate's birthday party. Rachel had no idea if Fritz knew anything or suspected anything or what to say. _"Hey Fritz. Your wife gave me a mind-numbing orgasm last night. Hope you're not mad."_ She pretended to be asleep in the car. When they got to the apartment, she thanked him and headed inside.

Fritz turned around and went home. Damn, he was jealous of Brenda right now. Rachel was a babe, the talk of the FBI. There were dozens of guys who would cut off their own foot to spend a night with her, but she ends up fooling around with his wife.

When he got home, he started on his chores: cleaning his car, mowing the lawn, etc.

Brenda got home and was ready for some iced tea. She made a pitcher and brought some out for her husband. He decided it was time for a break and followed Brenda in the house.

Fritz sat down with his glass and noticed Brenda had a smug look on her face. "What is it?"

"Oh nothing," she said. The way she said it, Fritz knew it was something.

"What?"

"I was just reminiscing, last night." She grinned. It was wrong of her to tease her husband, but it was fun.

"Don't remind me."

"Don't be jealous. I was going to invite her back here. If you're a good boy, you can join in on the fun."

"You wanted to invite her over again. What about Marcus?"

"Well, he's spending New Years with his grandparents in Chicago, so I thought Rachel might want to stay over for a night." _Or two, or …._

Fritz's eyes lit up. He could only imagine having Rachel naked and in their bed. FBI frowned on intra-office canoodling as it were, but Rachel was an IC. Technically, she didn't work for the FBI. What the bureau didn't know wouldn't hurt it. "If I'm good." _What did Brenda know about being good?_

Brenda nodded and kissed his lips.

"But what if I'd rather be naughty?" He grabbed her ass and pulled her towards him.

"When are you not?"

He picked her up and carried her upstairs. It was definitely time to be naughty. Brenda liked it when Fritz had a twinkle in his eye. She knew she was in for a good time. When they got to bed, they started shedding each other's clothes. Brenda rolled on top of her husband, giving him a big kiss. He flipped her on to her back.

"You've been a very bad girl," he chided. He took the handcuffs out the draw and cuffed her hands to the headboard. "Now it's time for you to be punished."

Fritz spoke with a harsh, husky voice. Brenda's hips quivered in anticipation, and she started to get wet. Brenda was on her knees, her head facing the headboard, her perky behind sticking out.

Fritz put a blindfold on his lover. He wasn't sure where this was going yet, so he wanted to buy a little time. Also, Brenda was impatient as hell.

He dug through their toys in the back of the closet, trying to figure out which ones to bring into play. He smiled when he saw exactly what he wanted. He returned to the bedroom, quietly, so Brenda wouldn't hear him. He quickly put her nipple clamps on her, causing her head to jerk forward and a soft gasp to escape her lips. She hadn't realized he was behind her until that very moment.

He traced his fingers along her sensitive folds, gauging her wetness. She cried out in pleasure. The next thing she felt was the sharp sting of his hand moving across her behind. He went back and forth, alternating cheeks as he punished her for her indiscretion. She moaned and groaned, not so secretly loving every second of it. She got wetter with every strike; she was glistening now, her body overtaken by lust, a little anxiousness, and the pleasurable stinging that her nipples and behind both felt.

Fritz had a smirk on his face, not that she could see it. When he felt Brenda had enough, he took a cooling gel and rubbed it down Brenda's body, starting with her shoulders.

"OOOH" Brenda cried out, that felt really good. He made his way down her body and started to rub her tender cheeks, causing her to whimper. He took his time, eliciting every groan and grunt he could from her. She instinctively spread her legs for him. Her outer lips were swollen. She was ready to be fucked. He moved his hands up her stomach, feeling her abs as the jutted against his hands. He made his way up to her breasts and pulled the clamps off her engorged nipples. He gently massaged her around the breast, taking his time before he put the cooling gel on her breasts. "OH GOD!"

"You like that, don't you, Slut?"

"Yes," she whimpered as she started to wriggle under his touch.

"You want to cum, don't you."

All she could do was whimper.

"Wait," he told her. His teeth dug into her neck as he pushed his way into her sopping cunt. He started slowly, his hands still kneading her breasts as his mouth moved across the back of her neck. His thrusts began to get faster and faster as Brenda's groans spurred him on. He loved fucking her: the way she'd moan and cry for more, the way her hips would push back against him, defiantly, demanding him go faster, the way her tight, wet, pussy would make a vice grip for his cock. He could feel her getting hotter and wetter, knowing she was about to burst. Brenda did her best to hold back, but her self-control was fading fast.

"Cum for me," he commanded.

Brenda bucked her hips against him, her tantalizing behind moving back and forth. Soon, she erupted, gushing all over the sheets. "AWWW FUCK!" she cried out as she came.

Fritz uncuffed her and pulled her onto his hips. "Ride me." Brenda braced herself on her hands and began to grind against him. She moved slowly, rolling her hips back and forth. She liked being able to control the pace, and she wanted to go nice and easy, as she was still tender from her orgasm. Fritz's hands were on his wife's hips, gently guiding her as she rode him.

"FUCK," Fritz muttered loudly as Brenda began to pick up the pace. He was getting really close. His hips began to rise to meet hers. He flipped her on her back and shot his load all over her chest. When he caught his breath, he grabbed his sticky wife and pulled her into a hungry kiss.

Sunday

Sharon was getting a head start on the cleaning. It was going to be a full house. Her daughter was coming with her bf. Rusty was here. Charlie was coming. She didn't know where she would put all these people, but Bobby insisted it would be fine. "They're young." They'll sleep on whatever. Plus, we'll feed them so much, they'll fall asleep at the dinner table. Problem solved."

Sharon laughed, and she started to mop the floor. This house needed work. The floors needed to be cleaned, the tables dusted, carpets vacuumed. She also wanted to clean out the fridge and wash all of the table cloths, etc. Bobby thought this could wait until later, but Sharon figured the more cleaning she did now, the easier it would be later. She never knew when murder would strike in this town.

Monday

Of course, there was a murder. An unidentified man was found floating in the pond at a golf course. A caddy called the police, thinking it was a drunkard. The police thought that too, until they pulled him out of the water and saw the bullet hole in his forehead.

Major Crimes had one mission only; finish this case before Christmas. The bullet was with SID. The dead man's photo (photoshopped so the bullet hole wasn't visible) was in the press, seeking an ID. They ran the photo against missing persons and against the mugshot database. All of their wheels were turning, and they were going at top speed.

Morales was working on the autopsy. Rios was pacing outside, hoping the case would be over soon. She had a ticket to Spain for the holidays, and she did not want to get stuck in LA.

Flynn and Provenza canvassed the neighborhood near the course. Tao was coordinating with the FBI, who was running the vic's fingerprints, Buzz was going through the security camera of the nearby establishments, looking for anyone who was around the night before. Sykes and Sanchez were on tip duty.

Sharon was staring at the murder board, trying to figure out where else to go from here. They had a dead man, mid 40s, who had no ID or phone or keys. No one from the course recognized him. Maybe he was using the course as a clandestine place to meet someone. It was dark, away from the city lights, the golf course was closed at the time. It was hours before anyone found his remains. Maybe the killer chose the meeting place for that reason. There was nothing but hypothesizing at this point. Maybe Morales had something.

She went down to his lair to see Rios pacing.

"Tell me you have something," she said. "I'm going to Spain for Christmas. I can't get stuck her over some John Doe." Her voice was insistent and mouse-like at the same time

Sharon sighed. "Maybe I will, after Dr. Morales shares his findings." No one wanted to be here for Christmas.

As it turned out, he couldn't add much. The guy had decent teeth, so he probably wasn't homeless. He was really drunk when he died and his last meal was pizza about 3 hours before he was shot.


End file.
